European Commissioners visit Green Line
The European Union’s 26 commissioners were taken on a tour of the Green Line which separates Cyprus’ two sides in Nicosia’s old town on Friday.
They were guided around the area by European Affairs Deputy Minister Marilena Raouna and Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, as well as other ministers, and the tour concluded with the commissioners being offered Cypriot coffee and zivania, among other Cypriot delicacies.
Fisheries commissioner Costas Kadis, who is himself a Cypriot national, said that his colleagues “are seeing in practice what is happening in Cyprus, what it means to live in a divided homeland, what it means for a European country to have a divided capital”.
“I would say that they did not believe what they were seeing. That is, they did not believe how intense what people experienced here in Cyprus was,” he said.
Meanwhile, transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikkostas congratulated the Cypriot government for choosing to show the college of commissioners the Green Line, saying that it “sent a loud and strong message that we will each fight and battle until we achieve a just and sustainable solution for our Cyprus”.
He added that the visit will allow for “everyone to understand clearly that right now, in 2026, there is still a member state of the European Union which is under occupation”.
“This is unacceptable and we all must fight with all our might to achieve this, to achieve a just and sustainable solution,” he said.
He went on to say that Cyprus’ six-month term as the holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency is “a very important six months for our Cyprus”.
“I am certain that the Cyprus presidency will be crowned with success and that it is also an opportunity during these six months to highlight this very important message and problem for all of Europe,” he said, before adding that the island will “be at the forefront of Europe” during its six-month term.
Asked whether he believes the tour will aid the EU in “exerting more pressure” to solve the Cyprus problem, he said he is certain it will, “because, believe me, speaking with them, no one had understood the magnitude of the problem”.
“It is completely different to see it on the news, to read about it in newspapers or in history books, and completely different to visit a place where a city is essentially divided, a country is divided, an island is divided,” he said.
Tzitzikostas is a Greek national but said last month that he considers himself to be a second Cypriot commissioner alongside his “good friend”, Costas Kadis.
The 26 commissioners’ visit to the Green Line comes after commission President Ursula von der Leyen had paid a visit alongside Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday.
She described her visit as “very moving”, and added that “a comprehensive, fair, and lasting settlement for Cyprus and for all Cypriots remains an absolute priority for the EU”.
“I hope that 2026 will bring new momentum towards reunification for all Cypriots,” she said.