President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou and President of the Congress of Deputies (Lower House) of Spain, Francina Armengol Socias, expressed Monday their common will to further enhance cooperation between the two Parliaments.
Socias and Vice-President of the Spanish Senate, Javier Ignacio Maroto Aranzábal, arrived in Cyprus on Sunday for a three-day official visit, following an invitation from the President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou. The delegation is accompanied by high-ranking officials of the Spanish Parliament. The two officials are also visiting Cyprus in their capacity as representatives of the Spanish Presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PAM) during the current semester.
In her statements, Demetriou said that the visit of the Spanish delegation is proof of the common will to further strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between the two Parliaments at a bilateral and European level.
It highlights, she continued, the importance and value of parliamentary diplomacy in promoting common goals and aspirations, especially in this very difficult political period.
The House President said that she informed her Spanish counterpart about the Cyprus issue, and thanked her for Spain’s principled stance in the efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue, based on the relevant UN resolutions, the European principles and values.
Your visit here in Cyprus for the first time, Demetriou said, is very important since “you will realize that it is unacceptable in 2025 to have occupation in a European state where citizens feel insecurity, cannot move freely, nor work freely, or live freely throughout the whole territory of the Republic of Cyprus.”
Demetriou said that they also exchanged views on the priority issues of the Spanish Presidency of PAM and assured of the Cypriot Parliament’s support.
Speaking through an interpreter, the Spanish official said that in her capacity as President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PAM) she pays her first visit in Cyprus.
She added that Spain and Cyprus are two friendly countries that share common European values and that during their meeting they discussed about future goals, “climate change, the need for a more proper economic system, the will and desire to work together as women and many other issues that we share.”
Regarding the PAM, she said that the current Spanish Presidency has set the issue of refugee flows as a priority, and added that Spain and Cyprus are both first line countries and face common challenges.
Referring to the Cyprus issue, she said that in Cyprus “there has been an anomaly for 50 years”, adding that in Spain “we are committed that dialogue and diplomacy will be able to bring solutions to the Cyprus issue.”
There must be a solution, she added, through dialogue “based on the calls of the UN, reaching a bicommunal solution”. There must be a solution on this beautiful island, she noted.
She said that we live in difficult times, citing as examples Ukraine and other regions, and thanked Cyprus for its role in peace efforts.
Referring to the two Parliaments, she said that cooperation should continue and that they discussed the possibilities for further cooperation at the parliamentary level.
Taking again the floor, the Cypriot House President thanked Socias for her country’s support on issues of principle, “for the support on the Cyprus issue but also for the will for further cooperation at the parliamentary level, and her particular sensitivity regarding the major issue of immigration.”
Concluding, she said that the Spanish official and her entourage will visit the Pournara Reception Center where they will see first hand how the Republic of Cyprus handles the immigration issue and the difficulties that Cyprus is facing as a first line country.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
🇨🇾🇪🇸 Καλωσορίσαμε στη Βουλή την Πρόεδρο του Κογκρέσου της Ισπανίας, κ. @F_Armengol , στην πρώτη της επίσημη επίσκεψη στην Κύπρο.
— Annita Demetriou (@AnnitaDemetriou) January 13, 2025
Συζητήσαμε τη συνεργασία και την περαιτέρω ενδυνάμωση της κοινοβουλευτικής διπλωματίας σε διμερές, ευρωπαϊκό και ευρύτερο διεθνές επίπεδο, με γνώμονα… pic.twitter.com/viwUPY2faH
“We welcomed to the Parliament the President of the Congress of Spain, Mrs. @F_Armengol , on her first official visit to Cyprus. We discussed cooperation and the further strengthening of parliamentary diplomacy at the bilateral, European and broader international levels, with a view to defending Democracy and the Rule of Law, away from extreme populism and leveling. We emphasized the need for peace, stability and collective action in a series of challenges that we are called upon to manage, with the key issue of migration, especially for the first host countries, and with particular reference to the continuation of the initiative presented in Palma de Mallorca last April, which will be hosted in the Canary Islands at the end of this month. Our common approach as Mediterranean states on the issues we face, such as the Cyprus problem, developments in our region, but also the priorities set by Spain as the current president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, strengthens our will to lead our parliaments and provide the solutions that the citizens of our countries expect from us.”
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Source: CNA
