At the July CoR plenary session the priorities of the EU Council Cypriot Presidency was presented by Andreas Mavroyannis, Cyprus Deputy Minister for European Affairs.  EA group President Dr Uno Silberg focussed on three main points:
Youth unemployment is one of the biggest issues facing the EU, Dr Silberg said, and he added that Europe needs to focus more clearly on addressing the high unemployment level, and unless we focus quickly on the issue of youth unemployment we risk losing a generation.  He urged for more action in this regard.
The EA group president welcomed the focus on Energy and Environment and also he added that more must be done to encourage Renewable Energy as there was a possibility for the EU to create more Green Jobs as well as reducing our dependency on imported energy.
Lastly Dr Silberg focussed on the issue of food security and the availability of quality and reasonably priced food for consumers.  This was in particular an issue in the discussions which will be held on the future of CAP. He also added that the EU must recognise the preservation of our rural communities and reasonable living standard for farmers as the key preconditions in achieving this goal.