President Nikos Christodoulides and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday met to discuss “priority areas” which will concern Cyprus’ holding of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency in the first half of next year.

According to the Cypriot government, discussions had “an emphasis on the Mediterranean dimension”, while the pair also spoke about “the actions of Cyprus aimed at promoting Mediterranean issues, including migration”.

Christodoulides also briefed Sanchez on the latest developments regarding the Cyprus problem with a view to the upcoming enlarged meeting in Geneva in July

The Cypriot government said the pair “discussed how Spain could assist in efforts to restart the talks, based on the agreed framework and the principles and values of the European Union” – towards a bizonal, bicommunal, federal solution.

The pair also discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East and agreed that there should be “a more active involvement on the part of the EU in the Middle East, and in Syria and in Lebanon”.

They also discussed relations between the EU and the United States, with the “need for strategic autonomy and the strengthening of the EU’s competitiveness” having been stressed by both.

After his meeting with Sanchez, Christodoulides also met King Felipe VI of Spain, with the pair sitting down to lunch.

Earlier, European Affairs Deputy Minister Marilena Raouna met with her Spanish counterpart, Spanish European Union State Secretary Fernando Sampedro.

The pair also spoke about the “framework of priorities” of Cyprus’ holding of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency, including EU enlargement, with Raouna informing Sampedro of the “results” of Christodoulides’ visits to Serbia and Montenegro, both of which are EU candidate states, last week.

Additionally, they discussed relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which have largely been at a standstill since the country left the EU in 2020.

Incumbent British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had initially promised a “reset” upon being elected last year, but his stance towards the EU has proven no less hard than those of his predecessors thus far.