European Council President Antonio Costa on Friday praised the hard work of both Cyprus and President Nikos Christodoulides during the island’s six-month term as the holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency, as he evaluated progress made on the EU’s priorities in recent months.

He began by speaking about the multiannual financial framework – the EU’s budget for the period covering the years between 2028 and 2034 – saying that with Cyprus having submitted a budget proposal last week, and consensuses beginning to be found among member states on aspects of it, the EU is “one step closer to a new European budget … that meets our ambitions”.

Additionally, he pointed out that negotiations for Ukraine to accede to the EU began this week, saying that “we are celebrating a historic milestone on Ukraine’s path towards the European Union”.

“In all these areas, the common denominator has been unity, and building this unity is a daily effort. To a large extent, this is due to the tireless efforts of Nikos Christodoulides and the Cyprus presidency in recent months, in close cooperation with the European Parliament and the European Commission,” he said.

He later quipped on the matter of the enlargement of the EU that “the main problem … is that we would need to wait for another 17 years for another Cypriot presidency”, with enlargement having been one of Cyprus’ priorities during its six-month term.

Later, he was asked about reports that one of his senior aides had opened up a channel of communication with Russia, and confirmed their veracity, while defending his own decision to instruct his aide to reach out to Moscow.

“When it comes to the interests of the European Union, the EU institutions should defend them, in accordance with the treaties,” he said, before adding that he “does not see any contradiction, nor any competition between different actors” on the issue of Ukraine.

He then stressed that the EU “is not and does not intend to be mediators” between Russia and Ukraine, echoing comments to that effect expressed by the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas during last month’s informal foreign ministers’ summit in Limassol.

She had said that “Europe will never be a neutral mediator between Russia and Ukraine” because “we are on Ukraine’s side and we are defending our own core security interests”.

However, not all sides were impressed by Costa’s manoeuvring, with Reuters on Friday reporting that both German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron were “not enthusiastic” about it, while the leaders of Nordic and Baltic EU member states were “most disturbed”.

Macron said publicly that Costa could play a role in the future of Ukraine, but that he “cannot represent [EU member states] when security guarantees are at stake”.