The Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Emmanouil Theodorou, referred to the current geopolitical situation and recent developments on a global scale, with a view to strengthening the EU's defence capabilities, as well as the objectives of the Cyprus Presidency to strengthen the Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, in his speech at the opening ceremony of the European Union Military Committee in the context of the Republic of Cyprus's assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, which took place on January 15, 2026, in Brussels.