Cyprus presidency closes with call to place islands and coastal regions at the heart of Europe

Cyprus closed the final major event of its six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union on Thursday with a call for islands and coastal communities to be recognised as central to Europe’s future rather than its periphery.

In closing remarks delivered at the high-level conference on islands and coastal communities in Paphos, Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna said the newly unveiled European strategies for islands and coastal communities reflected a fundamental...