Head of EU military committee on Cyprus visit

General Claudio Graziano, the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee (Eumc) is currently on a visit to Cyprus, where he will be meeting with various officials.

On Friday, Graziano will be received by the head of the National Guard, Lieutenant-General Elias Leontaris.

The two will later make statements to the press.

Graziano will also be meeting with the defence minister and with President Nicos Anastasiades.

The Chairman of the Eumc is a four-star rank officer representing and presiding over the EU’s Military Committee, composed of the chiefs of defence of the member states.

The chairman is selected by the national chiefs of defence and appointed by the Council of the European Union for a three-year term.

He or she acts as the military adviser to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Cyprus already participates in eight Pesco (Permanent Structured Cooperation) projects, including the Joint EU Intelligence School.

Pesco is seen as the main vehicle for EU military unification.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.