Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 08-10-16

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

CONTENTS

[01] BRITISH MINISTER CYPRUS TALKS

[02] EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER EU RURAL POLICY

[01] BRITISH MINISTER CYPRUS TALKS

In an article about her recent visit to Cyprus, Flint notes that Cypriots should not doubt the UKs ongoing commitment to the current process and its hope that it will deliver a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality.

``Last week, just three days into my job as Minister for Europe, I travelled to Cyprus to offer the support of the British Government to the negotiations aimed at re-unifying this beautiful island. My briefings told me that a window of opportunity had opened with the election of President Christofias earlier in the year and that both parts of the island were now led by men who wanted to solve the Cyprus problem,`` she says in her article.

She notes that initially she found it ``hard to be optimistic about the chances of an agreement being reached in such a long running and bitter conflict.``

``When a deep and genuinely held sense of grievance and grief is held on both sides, it requires both communities and their leaders to dig deep to find the will and courage to compromise. But I became quickly convinced that thanks to the leaders commitment there is a real chance this process will bear fruit,`` Flint points out.

[02] EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER EU RURAL POLICY

In a speech at a conference organised by the Directorate General for Agriculture entitled ``Europe`s rural areas in action: facing the challenges of tomorrow`` in the coastal town of Limassol, Boel talked about the prospects for rural development policy.

Referring to her thinking about the future of rural development policy, Boel said that Agriculture and rural development have shown that they make a strong couple and they should stay together under the same policy roof!

Boel also referred to the challenges to the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as identified in the European Commission`s Health Check of CAP, namely the need to combat and adapt to climate change; the need to manage water better the need to make good use of the potential of bioenergy and the need to protect biodiversity.

We must take these challenges seriously now otherwise well be forced to take them even more seriously in the years to come, she said.

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