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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 03-05-05
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Monday, 05 May 2003 Foreign Minister returns from informal EU General
Affairs Council
[02] Commission welcomes measures for Turkish Cypriots, says Filori
[01] Foreign Minister returns from informal EU General Affairs Council
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Georgios Iacovou, returned yesterday
from the Greek island of Kastelorizo, where he had attended the informal
meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council of the
European Union. The two-day meeting, which took place in Rhodes and
Kastelorizo, was attended by the Foreign Ministers of the current and
future EU member states. The Foreign Ministers of the three candidate
states, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey, were also invited to participate at
the last stage of the meeting. Speaking upon arrival at Larnaca Airport,
Cyprus' Foreign Minister said that the key agenda items discussed at the
meeting were the situation in Iraq and the Middle East, EU-US relations,
and the European Security and Defence Policy. Mr Iacovou further said that
during the two days of the Council meeting he had the opportunity to brief
his European counterparts on the latest developments regarding the Cyprus
issue. "From discussions I had with my counterparts, I got the impression
that they fully comprehend that the recent developments do not constitute a
fall of the wall in Cyprus, and that free communication with the occupied
areas does not solve the Cyprus problem", he noted.
Mr Iacovou expressed certainty that his European colleagues dismissed as
unfounded the position of the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Denktash that Greek
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots could not coexist peacefully, particularly in
light of the recent crossings of people from both communities across the
demarcation line. The Foreign Minister also told reporters that since the
signing of its Accession Treaty with the EU last month, Cyprus would
participate actively in meetings of all EU institutions.
[02] Commission welcomes measures for Turkish Cypriots, says Filori
Mr Jean-Christophe Filori, Spokesman of the Enlargement Commissioner Gunter
Verheugen, noted, at the daily press briefing last week, that the European
Commission welcomed the Cyprus Government's measures to support Turkish
Cypriots, while reiterating that the EU continued to aim for the accession
of a reunited Cyprus to the Union. Replying to questions on Cyprus, Mr
Filori announced that the European Commission was preparing a package of
measures to facilitate rapprochement between the two communities on the
island and to promote the economic development of the occupied areas of
Cyprus. He further pointed out that the Commission's initiative would be
probably announced on 21 May, and it would provide for 15 million euros in
financial assistance as well as a series of measures aiming to facilitate
trade from the occupied areas to the EU.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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