Annual Report 2019
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________________________________________________________________________ ANNUAL REPORT _________________ 2019 ________________ European Parliament Liaison Office in Cyprus ________________________________________________________________________ 1 ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2 ________________________________________________________________________ Contents Abbreviations of European Parliament’s Political Groups ............................................ 5 Foreword ............................................................................................................................. 6 Calendar of our main activities for 2019 .......................................................................... 8 Institutional election campaign for the European Elections (EE19) ...................... 11-22 European Parliament Office in Cyprus in Action........................................................... 11 Inter-institutional collaboration - EE19 .......................................................................... 14 Special editions and pre-election spots........................................................................... 17 Collaboration with NGOs ............................................................................................... 20 Election Night ................................................................................................................. 21 Social Media workshop for volunteers of the “together.eu” campaign ......................... 22 Flagship Events ............................................................................................................ 23-26 Solidarity between Generations ...................................................................................... 23 Celebrating Europe Day ................................................................................................. 24 Education in the service of peace ................................................................................... 26 Multi-thematic events .................................................................................................. 27-30 Televised discussion on the International Women’s Day ............................................. 27 European Mobility Week ............................................................................................... 28 Reception and Integration of Refugees .......................................................................... 29 Working breakfast with MEP Costas MAVRIDES ....................................................... 30 Events for the EP Prizes ............................................................................................. 31-32 Sakharov Prize ................................................................................................................ 31 LUX Prize ....................................................................................................................... 32 Media Actions .............................................................................................................. 33-38 EE19 Cyprus Eurocamp seminar for journalists ............................................................ 33 Press seminar on the hearing of the Cypriot Commissioner-designate Stella KYRIAKIDES and the new European Parliament ......................................................... 35 Media briefings on EE19, the new European Parliament and the new European Commission .................................................................................................................... 36 In-house seminars for media and journalists in Cyprus ................................................. 37 Actions for students of journalism ................................................................................. 37 Quick Statistics ............................................................................................................... 38 Social media overview from the EPLO in Nicosia 2019 ........................................... 39-44 ________________________________________________________________________ 3 ________________________________________________________________________ Special focus on youth ................................................................................................. 45-62 European Parliament Ambassador School Programme (EPAS) .................................... 45 Information briefings on the EU..................................................................................... 52 Euroscola Programme .................................................................................................... 54 Charlemagne Youth Prize 2019...................................................................................... 56 Information visits to Brussels ......................................................................................... 57 Quick Statistics ............................................................................................................... 58 Schools, universities and youth groups that visited the EU House in Nicosia in 2019 .. 59 Local briefings to schools, universities and organised groups ....................................... 61 The mission of the EPLO ............................................................................................ 63-64 The staff of the Office ....................................................................................................... 65 ________________________________________________________________________ 4 ________________________________________________________________________ Abbreviations of European Parliament’s Political Groups EPP European People's Party S&D Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Renew Renew Europe Greens–EFA Greens–European Free Alliance ID Identity and Democracy ECR European Conservatives and Reformists GUE/ NGL European United Left–Nordic Green Left NI Non-attached members ________________________________________________________________________ 5 ________________________________________________________________________ Foreword Dear reader, For the European Parliament Liaison Office (EPLO) in Cyprus, 2019 was by all means a special year. An important electoral year in the context of which the first five months we culminated our institutional campaign activities for the European elections of the 26 of May. Furthermore, for the period after the elections our main task was to present the new Parliament and its political priorities to Cypriot citizens but also to EU citizens residing in Cyprus. It goes beyond saying that the election of the new President of the European Commission (EC) by the European Parliament (EP) as well as the parliamentary hearings for the approval by the EP of Commissioners-designate were also at the heart of our communication activities nearly up to the end of 2019. This booklet aims to present merely an overview of our EPLO’s main activities for 2019 in accordance with the principles of accountability and transparency, which govern the EP as a whole. The most important milestone in 2019 was, of course, the European elections that took place between the 23 and the 26 of May in the 28 EU member states. Our Office adjusted all its actions from the beginning of 2019 with the aim of raising awareness about the importance of the upcoming elections among the Cypriot and other EU citizens residing in Cyprus. Our main task was to convince citizens to exercise their inalienable democratic right and cast their vote. In a nutshell, we urged citizens to express their view on the political course our Union takes for the next five years. The motto of EP’s institutional campaign for the European elections was “This Time I’m Voting” and I am particularly pleased to argue that the EPLO in Cyprus managed to pass successfully the message through its joined actions and synergies with the EC Representation in Cyprus, various governmental departments but also with stakeholders of the broader civil society. I sincerely want to express my deepest gratitude to all our partners for joining forces with us in that challenging journey in spreading across the messages of our institutional campaign for the elections and primarily that “this time it is not enough to just hope for a better future: this time we all need to take responsibility for it. Because when everybody votes, everybody wins”. ________________________________________________________________________ 6 ________________________________________________________________________ Besides, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to my colleagues in the EPLO for their invaluable contribution in successfully implementing our programmed priorities and activities for 2019. I would also like to express my profound appreciation to our partners and stakeholders, especially to the journalists and social media influencers who contributed decisively to the fulfilment of our goals. It is very important for the EPLO to be in close cooperation with Cypriot journalists, the media in general, as well as being active on social media since they are the main channels through which Cypriot European citizens receive comprehensive information about the debates and decisions taking place at the EP in both Brussels and Strasbourg. In particular, I would like to thank very much the President of the House of Representatives and the Officials of the House for their remarkable