Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 12-01-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] Leaders to host dinner for UN team at Cyprus talks

[02] Interview with Permanent Representative

[03] President: Europe must come closer to its citizens

[04] Agreement to stimulate tourism signed

[01] Leaders to host dinner for UN team at Cyprus talks

According to a press release, the dinner will be preceded by a meeting of the leaders in the village centre and a tour of the village`s coffee shops.

The dinner will be attended by the spouses of the leaders, the members of the negotiating teams of the two sides, the UN Secretary General`s Special Representative in Cyprus and Special Adviser on the Cyprus issue, Lisa Buttenheim and Alexander Downer respectively, and the members of the UN team at the talks.

On Wednesday the two leaders had their first meeting of the year and later this month they are due to meet, in New York, with the UN Secretary General in a bid to make headway towards a negotiated settlement.

The latest round of UN-led peace talks began in September 2008 to find a solution that would reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

[02] Interview with Permanent Representative

In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), he said that the heart of Cyprus EU presidency will be beating in Brussels, and more specifically in the Permanent Representation of the Republic to the EU, since there, in the EU capital, the strength of the presidency will be tested on a daily basis.

Korneliou pointed out that a successful EU presidency will significantly strengthen Cyprus position in the political arena, which in turn could contribute to efforts to reunify the country, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

Moreover, he said that Turkey, which has officially stated it would freeze its relations with the EU presidency during Cyprus six monthly rotating presidency should take into consideration the recent European Council position on the Turkish stance. Alternatively, he noted, the only thing Turkey can achieve is to further complicate its EU accession process.

[03] President: Europe must come closer to its citizens

President Christofias was speaking at the inauguration of a Citizens Service Centre in the government controlled area of Famagusta, on the east coast of Cyprus, during which he also referred, inter alia, to the assumption of the presidency of the Council of the EU by Cyprus in the second semester of 2012.

He said that Europe must correct itself and look its citizens straight in the eyes instead of burdening them with the repercussions of the economic crisis. This is what is happening today in the EU, he noted, resulting in an increasing democratic deficit in the Union which means that the EU appears too distant from its citizens.

President Christofias said this gap between the EU and its citizens is getting wider due to the economic crisis and the way it is addressed.

[04] Agreement to stimulate tourism signed

The agreement, which we have just signed, concerns schemes offering incentives to the airlines and is another one step towards the direction of boosting the local economy, Flourentzou said and thanked the representatives of Hermes Airports for the cooperation and the successful conclusion of the agreement.

Iacovou stressed that the agreement is of great importance for Cyprus since it would help increase the number of tourists by 3,5 million and provide an additional income of 2,3 billion euros to Cyprus during the next five years.

Nicos Shacolas, Honorary Chairman of Hermes Airports, pointed out that the agreement constitutes a great incentive for economic growth, which would not cost the government anything.

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