Cyprus wants to be ‘as close as possible to core’ of EU amid ‘two-speed’ talks

Cyprus wishes to be “as close as possible to the core” of the European Union, foreign ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said on Friday, amid talks between ministers from other member states about the prospect of a “two-speed” Europe being created.

“Our aim is to be on the inside as much as possible. We see our future as inside Europe in every aspect, and this is why, for example, we have been doubling our efforts to join the Schengen zone,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

He added that the matter of a “two-speed” Europe should be subject to a wider discussion among member states and the institutions of the EU, and the topic has “multiple aspects, not just the legal side of things”.

Discussions surrounding the prospect of a “two-speed” Europe came to the fore this week after German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil announced that “now is the time for a Europe of two speeds” ahead of a video conference with his counterparts from five of the EU’s leading economies.

He said that “to survive in an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical situation, Europe must become stronger and more resilient”, with ministers from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain also joining the call the following day.

After Wednesday’s meeting, Klingbeil said that the six “want to be the drivers” of Europe.

“We are providing momentum, others can join. What matters is strengthening our competitiveness and our defence capability,” he said, before promising that the six would meet again to discuss further plans to strengthen the Euro, further integrate the six’s military capabilities, and bring about a “capital markets union”.

The “capital markets union” is an EU initiative which aims to integrate and unite the bloc’s member states’ capital markets. Were the initiative to be completed, investments and savings would be able to flow more easily across the bloc.

The prospect of a “two-speed” Europe has been raised multiple times in recent decades, with it having been suggested that the current 27-member EU and the requirement in many cases for unanimity among member states for policy to be implemented slows down decision-making processes.

In the current state of European geopolitics, Hungary is viewed by many to be a handbrake on European autonomy and integration, on account of the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s closer ties to United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and his voting down of policies agreed by the remaining 26 member states.

However, smaller member states have often warned that the abolition of the principle of unanimity may see them lose their voice in Brussels.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene offered pushback to Klingbeil’s comments in no certain terms, saying on Wednesday that “I think we should increasingly discuss how to avoid separate unions and instead have a common European Union”.

She did, however, admit that the EU’s current decision-making process is “too slow” and that the bloc “lacks a clear political leader capable of uniting member states around key priorities”, and lamented the exploitation of member states’ veto for political purposes.

“Even something like the veto right used to be a completely normal and accepted tool, but today it hinders the adoption of particularly important European Union decisions,” she said, adding, “if there are countries that use the veto power to block key decisions and processes, how do we move forward?”.

On the other side of the argument is Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who said earlier this month that he would accept his country having limited voting rights compared to larger, more established member states were his country to join the EU.

“At the end, they are the adults in the family who make the important decisions,” he said, before adding that in a post-veto EU, one advantage would be that if the larger member states “f*ck up”, the smaller member states would not be to blame.