Cyprus assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on January 1st for the first half of 2026, according to the system of rotation among the 27 member states. It succeeds Poland and Denmark, which held the Presidency of the Council during 2025. Cyprus holds the rotating Presidency of the Council as part of a trio of Presidencies along with Poland and Denmark.

The Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU has defined its priorities for the first half of 2026, focusing on strengthening the Union's strategic autonomy by combining greater self-reliance with active engagement with the world. Its main pillars will be strengthening security and defense, economic and energy competitiveness, democratic and social resilience, support for enlargement and Ukraine, and preparing the next multiannual financial framework to sustain these objectives. It will prioritize the implementation of European strategies in defense, economic security, migration, water resilience and democratic protection, advancement of the Single Market, the Savings and Investment Union, and digital sovereignty. Externally, it will promote an open trade policy, merit-based enlargement, strengthened transatlantic relations, and engagement with its southern and Gulf neighbors.

https://cyprus-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en

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