National Council to convene on March 30

The National Council, the top advisory body to the President regarding the handling of the Cyprus issue, will convene on Thursday March 30 at 1000 local time. This is the body's first meeting under the newly-elected President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides. 

During the meeting, Christodoulides will inform the members of the Council about the results of his contacts during his official visit to Greece, the talks he had last week in Nicosia with the UN Under-Secretary-General, Rosemary DiCarlo, and the meetings he will have this week on the sidelines of the European Council meeting in Brussels, as well as his participation in the European People's Party summit, aiming, among others, to promote his proposal for a more active engagement of the EU in efforts to lift the deadlock in the Cyprus problem. 

Christodoulides will have on Wednesday meetings in the Belgian capital with the heads of the EU institutions, namely with the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. 

Moreover, as Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis has told CNA, the President will have during his stay in Brussels meetings with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, whose country is currently holding the Presidency of the EU, and the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz.  Christodoulides is also expected to have the chance to discuss on the sidelines of the European Council with the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, will also be in Brussels to meet with the heads of the EU countries. 

On March 23 in the morning, prior to the European Council meeting, President Christodoulides will have the opportunity to present his proposal for a more active involvement of the EU to efforts for the resumption of the negotiations for a Cyprus settlement, under the UN auspices, before the leaders who participate in the European People's Party.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.