Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 06-11-28

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] GOVERNMENT - TAMPERE

[02] TZIONIS - PERTEV

[03] ALMUNIA - VISIT

[01] GOVERNMENT - TAMPERE

The failure of the Finnish effort, even if it was not a surprise, is still a sad development and a disappointing outcome, Pashiardes said, commenting on the absence of any agreement on a Finnish initiative to avert a crisis in EU-Turkish relations.

The Greek Cypriot side, he said, has done its utmost to see the Finnish Presidency effort succeed.

The Turkish side has tried and finally succeeded in seeing this initiative collapse. This is the reality of the situation, the spokesman said.

Responding to questions about the constructive attitude of the two sides, as Finland has said, the spokesman noted that at this stage the EU presidency does not wish to apportion any blame.

However the Finnish Presidency knows very well which side has cooperated constructively with it and which side worked for the failure of its initiative, he added.

On the possibility of slowing down Turkeys accession negotiations, he said the 25 EU members will decide on the matter, taking into account Turkeys refusal to meet its EU obligations, including opening its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels and aircraft.

The fact that the Cyprus problem has not been solved does not constitute a legal and acceptable justification for Turkey not to comply with its EU commitments towards the Republic of Cyprus, he added, responding to questions during his press briefing.

He stressed that the Cyprus problem and Turkeys EU obligations are two separate things and are not linked in any way.

Replying to other questions, the spokesman said that there is no reason to suspend Turkeys accession negotiations but there is every reason to take measures against Ankara, in that it refuses to meet its European obligations.

[02] TZIONIS - PERTEV

Pashiardis said the meeting takes place following the letters sent by UN Undersecretary General for political affairs Ibrahim Gambari to the leaders of the two communities with a view to make the Cyprus process move forward.

``What comes first is to set up the technical committees and the working groups and then, at a certain stage, we will see if any optimism can be justified,`` he concluded.

President of the Republic Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed on 8 July 2006, during a meeting in the presence of Gambari, to begin a process of bicommunal discussions on issues that affect the day-to-day life of the people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, both contributing to a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem.

Following the agreement, the senior aides of the two leaders began meetings in the office of the UN Secretary General`s Special Representative in Cyprus Michael Moller in the UN-controlled buffer zone to work out the modalities for the implementation of the July agreement.

[03] ALMUNIA - VISIT

According to a press release by the Representation of the European Commission in Cyprus, the conference will be opened on Thursday, 30 November, at Hilton Park hotel in Nicosia by the President of the Republic Tassos Papadopoulos.

The Commissioner will also give a joint press conference with member of the Board of Directors of the European Central Bank Jose Manuel Gonzalez Paramo, Finance Minister Michalis Sarris and Governor of the Central Bank Christodoulos Christodoulou.

During his stay on the island, Almunia will be received by President Papadopoulos and will hold meetings with social partners and consumer associations.

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