Cyprus postpones EU ministers’ meeting after drone strike

The Cypriot government on Monday postponed a planned meeting of the European general affairs council (Gac) which was due to take place in Nicosia, after the island’s British Akrotiri air force base was struck by a drone shortly after midnight.

The meeting was due to take place in Nicosia as Cyprus is currently the holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency, with ministers having been expected to discuss, among other things, the EU’s multiannual financial framework multiannual financial framework – its budget for the period covering the years between 2028 and 2034.

It had been planned that the meeting would be attended by ministers from some EU candidate countries, as well as from the United Kingdom, with UK representatives having been expected to attend a discussion on countering foreign information manipulation and interference under the umbrella of the planned “European democracy shield”.

No date has yet been set for the meeting to take place, and no information has yet been provided regarding other planned events this week, which include an interparliamentary conference on the EU’s common security and defence policy, and an informal meeting of the EU’s member states’ culture ministers, both of which are set to take place in Nicosia.