Cyprus has taken up the Presidency of the EU for the first time, and the timing could scarcely be more dramatic. The Mediterranean country of just under one million people faces the daunting task of gaining the states' agreement on the EU's budget from 2014 onwards, a task made ever harder by their own domestic problems, including a bail-out request for its banks and ongoing tensions with Turkey. As the President, Demetris Christofias, told MEPs of the plans for the next six months, Antigoni Papadopoulou was optimistic about what Cyprus could achieve. Despite the financial problems we face, I think we have worked very hard to prepare ourselves and we look forward to a successful Cyprus presidency. The Schengen agreement is one of the key principles of the EU, the right to travel between Member States without border controls. But after the European Council decision to exclude the EP from the management of the area, MEPs resolved to keep pressure on the Council to reverse the decision, and also identify which countries are in breach of Schengen rules. Just two months ago a Dutch court ruled that Dutch border controls are actually in breach of Schengen. These are instances that are not up in the air, they are happening as we speak and I think we should put a stop to them. In a vote today, MEPs overwhelmingly called on the governments not to make artificial cuts in the EU budget for 2013. This was in light of past disagreements about how to calculate their contributions, and fears that the deadlock seen during last year's €129 billion budget negotiations could be repeated, affecting jobs and growth. For coming out of the crisis we need more Europe, not less Europe, and for having more Europe we need money for paying the bill.
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