A list of potential candidates to be the next EU envoy for the Cyprus problem

As soon as Johannes Hahn left his post as the European Commission’s envoy for the Cyprus problem, Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis was at pains to stress that processes were already underway for the commission to appoint a replacement.

The commission, Letymbiotis said, is “already taking the necessary steps with the aim of appointing a new envoy … in the immediate future”. 

While no timeline has been given for when that replacement will be announced, statements made by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his envoy in Cyprus Maria Angela Holguin alluding to hopes for earnest progress before the end of the year could push the commission into a prompt decision. 

Allegations over “irregularities” regarding the sale of €900 million worth of real estate notwithstanding, there is no indication that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was of the opinion that Hahn was doing a “bad” job as envoy, though his role was limited. 

For this reason, it appears likely that she will look to a similar profile when she appoints his replacement.  

Hahn was, crucially, a former commissioner who had served under von der Leyen, and a member of the European People’s Party (EPP), the European political grouping to which she and President Nikos Christodoulides both belong.  

Neither of those characteristics are prerequisites, but they would likely be indications that a candidate would, in von der Leyen’s eyes, be trustworthy. 

On the matter of the party, it remains to be seen whether the fact that Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman’s leanings will be taken into account going forward.  

His predecessor Ersin Tatar’s opposition in principle to the idea of an EU envoy left him well and truly out of the conversation, but Erhurman held meetings with Hahn even before he was elected last year and may wish to be consulted.  

Erhurman is aligned with the Party of European Socialists, the centre-left grouping which encompasses, among other parties, Germany’s SPD, Greece’s Pasok, and Diko.  

With that in mind, here is a list of potential candidates to be the next EU envoy for the Cyprus problem. 

 
Margrethe Vestager 

The 57-year-old former Danish prime minister served as a commissioner under both von der Leyen and her predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker, and stepped in as the interim internal market commissioner following Thierry Breton’s resignation following a public spat with von der Leyen in 2024, showing von der Leyen’s trust in her. 

However, her limited foreign affairs experience may count against her, as may the fact that some in Cyprus with long political memories may remember that it was she who had ordered Cyprus Airways to pay back €65m in state aid in 2015, shortly after which the airline went bust. 

 Josep Borrell 

Appointing her former foreign affairs chief to the position of Cyprus problem envoy would show the island that von der Leyen, and by extension the EU, is taking the island’s peace process seriously.  

At almost 79 years old, he may consider himself retired, but the frequency of Hahn’s visits to Cyprus gave no impression that the role of EU envoy for the Cyprus problem is a full-time job. 

Paolo Gentiloni 

Another political heavyweight, 71-year-old Gentiloni had served as Italy’s foreign minister and prime minister before spending five year’s as von der Leyen’s economy commissioner.  

Since leaving the commission, he has worked for the UN as part of an advisory board aimed at finding policy solutions to solve the world’s debt crisis, and he is viewed by many in Italy as a skilled political mediator. 

 
Didier Reynders 

Reynders, 67, spent almost eight years in post as Belgium’s foreign minister, before serving as justice commissioner in von der Leyen’s first commission.  

His term as a commissioner allowed him regular contacts with Nicosia, given the EU’s attempts to untangle Cyprus’ citizenship-by-investment scheme, among other things. 

 
Janez Lenarcic 

Lenarcic is a career diplomat, having served in Slovenia’s representation at the UN and as the country’s ambassador to the Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE), before later representing his country during Lisbon Treaty negotiations and playing a leading role when his country held the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency in 2008. 

He served as von der Leyen’s crisis management commissioner for five years, overseeing the EU’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. At 58 years old, he is a spring chicken compared to some others on the list. 

Angela Merkel 

Back in 2023, when the UN was mulling appointing its own envoy, Christodoulides and others had dropped hints that the former German chancellor may be the appointee.  

Instead, Holguin was selected, and remains in post to this day, though Christodoulides had also suggested at the time that Merkel may at some point be appointed as the EU’s envoy.   

Von der Leyen spent 14 years as a minister in Merkel’s cabinet, serving as family minister, labour minister, and defence minister. Merkel is now 71 years old and has seldom been seen since leaving office, but, like the prospect of a Borrell appointment, naming her as envoy would be seen as proof that the EU is taking the Cyprus problem seriously.