Military support for Cyprus ‘a powerful example of European autonomy’, Costa says

The military support offered by four European Union member states to Cyprus after the island was hit by an Iranian-made drone last week is “a powerful example of European autonomy”, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Tuesday.

“The rapid response from Greece, France, Italy and Spain, sending military forces to protect Cyprus, is a powerful example of European autonomy and steadfast solidarity,” told the European Union’s ambassadors’ conference.

He added that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is “of the utmost concern”, and that while “Iran is for sure responsible for the root causes of this situation”, what he described as unilateralism can “never be the path forward”.

“Attacks by Iran and its proxies, like Hezbollah, against its neighbours – including Cyprus, a member state of the European Union – must stop,” he said.

After making his speech to the conference, he held a telephone conversation with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides to discuss the ongoing conflict.

After that discussion, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that at the next European Council summit, in Brussels on Thursday next week, Christodoulides will “extensively brief the leaders of European Union member states … on the latest developments in the region”.

He added that Christodoulides will also make reference to “the initiatives and actions of the Republic of Cyprus in relation to regional stability and security”.

In addition to the Middle East conflict, Letymbiotis said that Christodoulides and Costa had discussed the conflict’s “impacts on the broader region of the eastern Mediterranean and Europe”.

Costa’s comments come with the heads of the EU’s two other primary institutions, the European Commission and the European Parliament, having both offered their solidarity to the island after it was hit by an Iranian-made drone last week.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the ambassadors’ conference on Monday that she wished to “reaffirm our full solidarity” with Cyprus, while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told Monday’s plenary parliament session that Cyprus “will never be alone”.

“Any threat to member states is totally unacceptable, and when our resolve is tested, we will see – as we are seeing now – Europe acting as one,” she said.

However, von der Leyen and EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas found themselves on the end of fierce criticism from Cypriot member of the European Parliament Costas Mavrides later on Monday night for what he perceived as the “absence” of the EU in the aftermath of last week’s drone strike.

“Where are Ms Kallas and Ms von der Leyen?” he asked, saying that the pair’s “absence” was resounding, and that “their obstructionism and absence were recorded as a shame in the history of Europe”.

“Do they prefer cooperation with [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, the patron of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Syrian jihadist who wore a suit?”, he asked, in a likely reference to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.