Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 96-12-02

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

News Update

02/12/96

CONTENTS

• [01] President Clerides flies to Lisbon for OSCE Summit
• [02] Cyprus' bid to join EU will help solve Cyprus problem
• [03] EU delegation visits mixed community village of Pyla
• [04] News in brief

[01] President Clerides flies to Lisbon for OSCE Summit

In a statement on his departure, President Clerides said that he would be chairing today's afternoon session and would address the conference tomorrow. He added that he would be having various contacts in Lisbon such as with the President of Portugal, the Greek Prime Minister and possibly with the UN Secretary-General.

Asked whether the British Foreign Secretary is coming to Cyprus in order to exert pressure, President Clerides said he has no phobia about pressure and that the Greek Cypriot side will not succumb to pressure.

[02] Cyprus' bid to join EU will help solve Cyprus problem

Asked to comment on a recent statement by the British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind that it would be very difficult for Cyprus to join the EU before a solution is found, Mr Michaelides said that such statements are not at all helpful in that they give the message to the other side that by halting the efforts towards finding a solution, they may prevent Cyprus from joining the EU.

To a question whether any pressure is being exerted on the two sides, the Minister replied: "We do not want any pressure. We simply call on our European partners to contribute toward finding a solution to the Cyprus problem because although we seek entry into Europe, our primary aim remains the solution to the Cyprus problem".

He concluded that such a solution should be viable and should function within the framework of the EU.

[03] EU delegation visits mixed community village of Pyla

Speaking to reporters Heaslip said he found it very interesting "to see how the two communities can live and work together" stressing that to his mind "this mixed village could be an example for all of Cyprus".

"Everything I have seen so far underlines the co-operation between the two communities", he noted, adding that this was a very interesting experience for him but even more for his colleagues from the European Commission.

On his part, Serge Abou, the official responsible for Turkey and Cyprus at the EU, also described Pyla as an "example of co-operation of the two communities" but a the same time noted that "at this precise moment there is the serious problem of unemployment especially in the Turkish Cypriot community".

Before the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, out of a total of 623, there were 114 mixed-community villages from which the Turkish population withdrew - at the bidding of their leadership - to populate the northern occupied area of the island.

The EU delegation arrived in Cyprus on Wednesday (27.11.96) for a week-long visit and on Friday, following a meeting with Foreign Minister Alecos Michaelides, Serge Abou, in a statement to the press reaffirmed an EU decision to start membership talks with Cyprus six months after the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), stressing that the March 1995 EU decision to this effect "is my Bible".

Abou told the press he is here to "accompany and give technical advice to EU presidency representative for Cyprus Hester Heaslip, and help him particularly when he meets the Turkish Cypriot community".

He said his main topic would be to aim to explain "all the information about the future in the framework of Cyprus' accession and outline the possibility and the potential of this accession for them". The Turkish Cypriot leadership's official position is against joining the EU as a unitary Cyprus state unless Turkey also is allowed to join.

[04] News in brief

- Cyprus Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Andreas Moushioutas has awarded the diplomas to participants of a training programme for "Management of Small and Middle-sized Companies" at the end of a six-week period. The training was part of a technical assistance programme from Cyprus to countries of Central and Eastern Europe and was attended by 20 managerial staff of the private sector from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Armenia.

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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