The Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, informed the Mayor of Limassol, Yiannis Armeftis, about the progress in preparations of the Secretariat of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU ahead of the second Cyprus EU Presidency in the first half of 2026. The Deputy Minister for European Affairs welcomed on Monday at the Secretariat of the Cyprus Presidency, in Nicosia, the Mayor of Limassol and his colleagues, in a first meeting and an exchange of views, in the framework of contacts with local authorities, as her office prepares for the second Cyprus EU Presidency term. In her statements, after the meeting, Raouna said that the close cooperation with the local authorities is "an extremely important element of success in the national mission, for an ambitious and successful presidency of the Council of the European Union." She added that she had the opportunity to inform about the progress of the preparations and specifically said that she and the Mayor of Limassol discussed issue s related to hospitality and infrastructure for the specific semester. She further pointed out that they discussed the areas and the hotel units that can be used. On his part, the Mayor of Limassol, Yiannis Armeftis, thanked Raouna for the invitation and the information he received from the Secretariat of the Cyprus EU Presidency, saying that Limassol is very much present in the preparations underway. Source: Cyprus News Agency