Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 06-12-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] LILLIKAS - TURKEY - EU

[02] PAPADOPOULOS - CHINA

[01] LILLIKAS - TURKEY - EU

Lillikas held meetings with 13 counterparts on the sidelines of the OSCE session and will conclude his round of talks on Tuesday, during which he is making clear that many points of the European Commission recommendations do not satisfy the Republic of Cyprus.

During his meetings, Lillikas found forces supporting Turkey`s accession course irrespectively of whether Ankara was fulfilling its obligations or not. He noted that, since unanimity was necessary, there would be great struggles until December 11 in order to find a resultant that would allow for EU conclusions.

Lillikas said that Cyprus considers a timeframe imperative, which the Commission is not recommending, and that if a date is not set there will be no mechanism to exert pressure on Turkey to meet its obligations.

Nicosia also disagrees with the Commission`s recommendation for freezing certain chapters in Turkey`s accession negotiations and opening the rest. Lillikas said chapters could not be opened automatically but after a unanimous decision by an intergovernmental conference.

He added that Ankara has not normalised relations with the Republic of Cyprus and thus the chapter on common foreign and security policy could not be opened, since Turkey is blocking Cyprus` membership of international organisations and pacts.

Furthermore, the Cypriot government cannot accept linking the Cyprus problem with Turkey`s accession course.

[02] PAPADOPOULOS - CHINA

Cyprus has its doors open to Chinese business eager to invest and promote business, and as a full member state of the European Union, it offers very attractive benefits and opportunities for Chinese companies to establish their businesses and production units in Cyprus, Papadopoulos stressed, noting that the objective of his visit to China is not only to reaffirm the excellent political and diplomatic relations between China and Cyprus, but to take advantage and to build upon it to strengthen our economic relationship.

Referring to the Cypriot economy, Papadopoulos said it is in great shape, with a higher than EU-average growth rate of 3.8%, low unemployment rate of 3.8%, 2.6% inflation, and an average per capita income of US $22,000, which (in terms of purchasing power), corresponds to 85% of the EU average.

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