When Kornelios Korneliou received a call at his Paris office, where he worked as Ambassador, to pack his bags to serve his country in Brussels last October, he was not only taken by surprise but was also “concerned” about the task awaiting him.
It’s not enough to plan ahead. Be prepared to have plans B, C and D in place
Being your country’s man in Brussels is a mammoth job, normally reserved for a few workaholics in a government’s elite diplomatic corps.
But being Permanent Representative to the EU when your country has to preside over the 27 member states for six months is even tougher.
Since the beginning of July, Cyprus – the third-smallest member state, after Malta and Luxembourg, with a population of 900,000 – has been doing what is normally reserved for bigger, more experienced countries.
Malta, which takes over the rotating presidency in 2017, is looking on with interest because of the similarities between the two islands.
“I never imagined I would be coordinating all this from Brussels at this particular time,” Mr Korneliou admitted.
“It’s a big task, especially for small countries. We have been preparing for this for almost five years now.
“It’s true that this is a prestigious time for us but it’s also an enormous stress, particularly from the financial and human resources points of view.”
His transfer to Brussels from France was a direct consequence of his country’s presidency turn.
His predecessor, Andreas Mavroyiannis, was called back to Nicosia last year to become Deputy Minister for European Affairs, responsible directly for the presidency and answering personally to the country’s President, Dimitris Christofias.
The rotating presidency, which sees the member state involved being responsible for the coordination of almost all EU policy, comes with many strings attached.
“As this is our first experience, we had to make sure we were fully prepared. The preparations included building the infrastructure and all the human capacity required from scratch,” Mr Korneliou said.
In total, the presidency is expected to cost Cyprus €62 million, budgeted by the government over the preceding three years.
A big holiday complex in Limassol was acquired by the government and converted into a conference centre, with a state-of-the-art press centre and an adaptable plenary hall to host some 100 meetings, including 15 informal ministerial meetings.
A special presidency secretariat with about 50 top civil servants has been set up to coordinate all the activities and the country’s set-up in Brussels, the main hub of coordination with other EU institutions, was totally revamped.
“We had to acquire a new building in Brussels and triple the staff of the Permanent Representation specifically for the presidency,” he said.
From a complement of about 60 officials, the offices in Avenue de Cortenbergh in Brussels, a few blocks away from Dar Malta, now have 200 officials, many employed on a one-year contract.
It is such a mammoth task that in some areas Cyprus had to invite other member states to coordinate the meetings in its stead due to lack of resources.
At the same time, all civil servants connected to the presidency, from security staff to high-ranking officials, were given special training on EU affairs.
According to Mr Korneliou, the minute details of the Cypriot presidency were put in place over the last three years, although the island had been sending officials to visit other presidencies since 2007 to observe their workings.
On the political front, Cyprus’s original plans had to change at the eleventh hour.
The eurozone’s persistent financial crisis skewed the country’s original plans and shifted its priorities to strengthening the common currency.
To make matters worse, the crisis arrived on the island’s doorstep on the eve of the presidency, when Nicosia had to ask for an official bailout.
“It’s not enough to plan ahead. Be prepared to have plans B, C and D in place,” he said, when asked what advice he would give Malta when its turn was up.
“Over a few days, all your plans might have to be thrown away and you have to start afresh. Flexibility is crucial,” he said.
Cyprus also has one added problem that Malta need not face. Turkey, its eternal rival, has decided not to recognise its presidency and has frozen all membership negotiations until the EU baton is passed to Ireland in January.