Statement by President von der Leyen with President Costa and President Christodoulides following the Informal meeting of Heads of State and Government of April 2026

Thank you very much, dear Nikos, for welcoming us in Cyprus.

You said your country is the bridge into the Mediterranean and the Middle East. And indeed, we could see today that this is the place where the Middle East meets the European Union. So your Presidency could not be more timely than now. We discussed the impact of the crisis also on our economy, mainly on energy. After 54 days of conflict in the Middle East, the impact is tangible. Let me give you a figure: since the beginning of this conflict, our bill for imported fossil fuels has increased by over EUR 25 billion, without a single molecule of energy in addition. EUR 25 billion for 54 days. Therefore, the mid-term strategy that we have been discussing in the last weeks and months is very clear: we need to reduce our overdependency on imported fossil fuels because these make us vulnerable to crises, and we need to boost our home-grown, affordable, clean energy sources. That is all sorts of renewables and, of course, as a baseload, nuclear. Both energy sources give us independence, stability, they are produced here in the European Union, and they are cheaper.

On the immediate measures that we proposed, I want to make, first of all, a general remark: the energy mix in every Member State is different. This is the reason why we have not presented something one size fits all, but a toolbox for the different situations of the different Member States. First, support must be targeted – to those who need it most; that is the lesson learnt from the energy crisis in 2022, when Russia cut us off the gas. It must be temporary – with a clear end date. And above all, it must be coordinated across Europe, for maximum impact. Now, we will apply this same mindset when it comes to fuel reserves, especially jet fuel and diesel, where markets are tightening. The second lesson learnt is that our immediate actions should lead to lasting effects. This goes back to the fact of how we are going to change our energy supply over time. For that, you must know that three thirds of the energy supply is fossil fuels. Electricity represents 25% of the energy supply, one quarter of our final energy consumption. This is lower than in the United States or China. This must and will change. That is why we will accelerate the electrification of our Union. By the summer, we will present the Electrification Action Plan, with an ambitious target. Because the overall message of the day, yesterday's discussion, was that we must move towards clean and homegrown energy. This is not only a matter of affordability, but also of economic security and independence.

Turning to our competitiveness agenda. This morning, the three of us – the Presidency of the Council – dear Nikos –, the President of the European Parliament – Roberta Metsola –, and me as President of the European Commission, we signed the ‘One Europe, One Market' roadmap. Finally, it is agreed. It is excellent because it is a joint political vision for the completion of the Single Market by the end of 2027, with very clear milestones. We have five key drivers of prosperity in this roadmap: First, simplifying rules to make it easier for companies to thrive in Europe. Second, removing all barriers that hamper smooth cross-border business and investment. Third, championing strong trade – and we already have a strong track record there. Fourth, reducing energy prices and decarbonising, as we discussed. And fifth, driving the digital and AI transformation. So in many ways, signing the roadmap is not the end, but the beginning of some better, more and hard work to deliver.

Finally, on the next MFF. Indeed, we discussed it this morning. The next EU budget is central to our competitiveness agenda. It can de-risk investment and crowd in private capital. If you take InvestEU, InvestEU has or had EUR 26 billion as guarantees. This triggered EUR 300 billion of private investment. By the budget we can fund strategic priorities at real European scale, and it can support reforms that make Europe a better place to invest. All this is in the proposal of the next MFF.  But we must be lucid about the budgetary equation. First of all, from 2028 onwards, the EU will start repaying NextGenerationEU. That is one obligation. Then we need to invest more in our new priorities: European competitiveness, AI, quantum, defence, security, energy, etc. The third point of importance is that we want to sustain funding for EU's long-standing priorities: Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion policy. We want to keep national contributions in check. If we want all four elements to be respected, then there is only one solution. New own resources are indispensable. I presented the different elements of the package of the new own resources. Without them, the choice is stark, higher national contributions or lower spending capacity. That are the only options that are out there. In other words, lower spending capacities would mean less Europe exactly where Europe needs to do more. This is why the Commission proposed a comprehensive package of new own resources. A package that is diversified, linked to Union policies, and capable of generating stable revenues over time. We think this is the only credible way to match Europe's priorities with Europe's means.

To conclude, a word on another topic brought up today. Thanks to you, Nikos, we had a timely and necessary discussion on the mutual defence clause. The treaty is very clear about the ‘what', and it is very strong that there is an obligation for other Member States to support the one who is in need. The treaty is not clear about the ‘how'. And this is the topic we are working on intensively today. We are working on the topic together with the High Representative and the Commissioner for Defence. We have a very good example with the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, in place for 20 years. There Member States know exactly how to trigger. Everyone knows one's responsibilities and duties. A cascade of actions is triggered, and it is working very effectively. There is a second element that we started to discuss. What happens before the mutual defence clause, when hybrid attacks, cyber-attacks, disinformation, of manipulation are escalating. It is a time where you can work to prevent an escalation to an armed conflict and to de-escalate. Also, this part of the equation, we have been starting to discuss, but there is certainly a long way still to go to complete the picture.

Thank you.