Cyprus has made progress over issues surrounding violations in the management of urban wastewater, nature and waste, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou said on Tuesday at the EU Council of Environment Ministers meeting in Brussels.

Her statements come a day after the European Commission announced it had sent a reasoned opinion to Cyprus for failing to apply directives over landfills and waste treatment.

It said Cyprus had failed to ensure that “waste is subject to adequate treatment before being landfilled and for failing to establish an integrated and adequate network of waste management installations, considering the best available techniques.”

Panayiotou expressed her support for a discussion on regulating microplastics, adding that Cyprus has submitted a specific statement together with Malta and Greece seeking to include the shipping industry in the regulation.

“What interests us is to protect ourselves from microplastic pollution and at the same time ensure the competitiveness of the sector,” she said calling for the discussion to take place at the level of the International Maritime Organization.

Referring to the discussion on the 2040 interim package with the aim of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the minister pointed out that “Cyprus has high on its agenda the commitment to European goals, climate and environmental”, adding that “European goals are also goals of Cyprus, which we naturally want to achieve”.

At the same time, Panayiotou called for ensuring a just transition, saying that enhanced access to financial tools and new technology is needed, both for small and medium-sized enterprises and for vulnerable groups of the population. “For us, the green transition is an opportunity to improve our quality of life in terms of sustainability and this is what we want to ensure through the proposals we submit.”

Referring to the meetings she had with the Commissioner for Environment, Resilience, Water and the Circular Economy and the Commissioner for Climate Action, Panayiotou said that she informed them of Cyprus’ priorities for the upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026.

“One of our main priorities is of course water resilience and this satisfied both Commissioners,” she said, adding that she has informed them that Cyprus’ position is that the issue should be perceived as a horizontal issue, because it touches on so many sectors.

“Water resilience and sustainable management of water resources is a priority for us,” she said, noting that Cyprus faces the impacts of prolonged water scarcity, both in terms of desertification and in the primary sector. “We want to ensure that there is a holistic and horizontal approach to this issue.”

At the same time, Panayiotou said that she had briefed the two Commissioners on Cyprus’ progress on the issues of urban wastewater management, nature and waste management, noting that progress “has increased significantly recently.”

She also briefed them on Cyprus’ programme to improve its waste infrastructure.

“What we have decided with both Commissioners is that meetings will follow at a technical level so that we can see in practice how we are closer to the Commission’s goals and how we will achieve the goals we have set.”