The crisis in the eurozone, the financial stability and the high unemployment rate in the European Union are expected to be the chief priorities in the course of the Cyprian Presidency of the Union. The admission of new members is hardly likely to be put on Cyprus’s list of priorities. Resolving the debt crisis will be in the focus instead. However, if enlargement appears on the agenda after all, Macedonia cannot expect much from the Cyprian Presidency considering that as far as the foreign policy toward Macedonia goes, Nicosia does what Athens tells it to do.

Experts emphasize that the presiding country may exert an influence in adding an issue to the priority list. However, the influence is limited when it comes to more important decisions, such as enlargement. Defining priorities is not of concern only to the presiding country but of all member states given that the chair’s program reflects the mood of the entire Union.