As of 1 January 2026, Cyprus holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU for the second time since it joined the European Union in 2004. The Council is one of the 3 main EU institutions, , and its Presidency changes every 6 months.
Cyprus will now chair all the relevant Council formations and technical bodies, such as the Education, Employment, and Social Affairs Council meetings of the national ministers (EPSCO) or the Social Questions Working Party meetings, which usually discuss issues related to disability. Therefore, they are the most important point of contact to influence the work of the Council during these six months
Priorities
The Cypriot Presidency has built its Programme around 5 priorities under the motto “An Autonomous Union. Open to the World.” The priorities are
- Autonomy through Security, Defense Readiness and Preparedness
- Autonomy through Competitiveness
- Open to the World, autonomous
- An autonomous Union of Values that leaves no-one behind
- A long-term budget for the European Union.
Under the 4th priority, the Presidency explicitly mentions disability: “The Presidency will support the full implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, promoting gender equality, removing barriers for people with disabilities, and supporting active ageing with dignity, solidarity, and intergenerational balance.”
Other relevant policy priorities are:
- the Affordable Housing Plan
- the Anti-Poverty-Strategy
- the Child Guarantee,
- the action plan against Cyberbullying
- the Union of Skills
- the European Health Union
- Mental health.
Disability advocacy
EDF is already in touch with the Cypriot Presidency and with our Cypriot members, the Cyprus Confederation of Organisations of the Disabled,to ensure that disability rights are in the focus. We will work closely together to plan the disability-related events in Cyprus in May and we will also draw up our regular Presidency Scorecard.
Relevant events
A full list of events can be found on the Presidency website. This is a selection with relevant events for our policy areas:
- 8 – 10 February: High-Level Conference on the Transposition of EU Directives on Standards for Equality Bodies & Equinet Standards Project Group Meeting
- 12 – 13 February: Informal EPSCO Council meeting
- 17 – 20 March: EU Youth Conference – The Conference will also contribute to a second Council Resolution revising the EU Youth Strategy Work Plan for 2025–2027.
- 18 March: Tripartite Social Summit (in Brussels)
- March (tbc): High-Level event on the forthcoming European Strategy for Gender Equality 2026-30 (in Brussels)
- 16 – 17 April: High Level Meeting “TEN-T Network and European Transport Corridors”
- 5 – 6 May: European Commission Disability Platform meeting (in Cyprus)
- 7 May: High Level Conference: ‘Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities: empowerment and support in a community for all’ (Permanent Secretaries Level)
- 9 – 10 May: EDF Annual General Assembly in Cyprus
- 11 – 12 May: Informal Ministerial Conference on Housing
- 17 – 19 May: High Level Conference on “Preventing and Combating Cyber Gender-Based Violence Against Girls”
- 20 – 21 May: High Level Conference: ‘No Child is Left Behind: Promoting child well-being and combating child poverty’ (Permanent Secretaries Level)
- 14 – 15 June: European Aviation Strategy Summit
- 29 June: EPSCO Council meeting (in Luxembourg)