Filenews 29 January 2026
It has taken a long time for Cyprus to take over the presidency of the European Council of the EU! From the first days of the presidency, the Cypriot government was faced with a very serious and multi-level crisis in the Union's relations with the United States of America, which is predicted to have new episodes in the coming period, despite the partial de-escalation recorded after the presence of Donald Trump in Davos.
As of yesterday, the Cyprus presidency has to manage the formalization of Germany's effort, in cooperation with France, to set up a "directorate" of six major EU economies and promote the old idea of a two-speed Europe. That is, an EU for the big and powerful (there may be six, maybe more), which will decide without the hoarseness of the potential veto from 27 countries and an EU of 19-20-21 countries, which will either implement the decisions of the "big ones", or will try to institutionally operate the slow-moving Union with smaller forces, less money and limited influence.
The revival of the effort - characterized as divisive to disintegrating by analysts and officials of the Parliament - for the formation of the Group of 6 (E6 named by the German Minister of Finance) is in its early stages and is sure to provoke strong reactions from the rest of the countries.
Yesterday afternoon, a teleconference convened by Germany was expected to take place, with the participation of the finance ministers of France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands. The German minister said that an exchange of views with physical presence will be planned soon.
The major international agencies seemed to be taken by surprise yesterday by the statements of the German chancellor and the finance minister. However, they put the news in the highest position of the evaluation, a position in which the news with the developments on the issue today and in the coming days is expected to remain.
Foreign media linked the convening of the teleconference to the mockery of the EU and in particular of the slow decision-making processes by members of the Trump administration and the American president himself.
Reuters points out that the idea of creating ad-hoc coalitions that would allow some EU countries to push through decisions without requiring the agreement of all countries has tempted some member states, but is now gaining new momentum as Europe faces growing insecurity, sluggish growth and deep political divergences.
"Now is the time for a two-speed Europe," German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said in Berlin. "To survive in an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical situation, Europe must become stronger and more resilient," he wrote in the letter to his counterparts in France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands.
The letter of the German Finance Minister includes a four-point plan for the promotion by the E6 group of the EU capital markets union, the strengthening of the euro, the better coordination of investments in defense and securing raw materials and the creation of a Savings and Investment Union, for better financing conditions for European businesses.
According to Reuters, on the euro, Mr. Klingbeale called for cutting red tape and strengthening sovereignty in the payments sector to highlight the currency's role as a safe haven based on predictability and the rule of law.
France appears to be unequivocally supportive of the German initiative. It is calling for smaller decision-making centres for fast-track procedures; major European issues, such as defence, relations with NATO, energy and industrial raw materials.
German officials clarified that groups of states with different compositions per sector or per promoted project will be able to operate, depending on which country wants to participate in which project, and the EU's first speed will not be limited to six countries.
