Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 11-03-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] CYPRUS GOVERNMENT EU TURKEYS PROGRESS REPORT

[02] SPOKESMAN CYPRUS ISSUE

[03] FM - EU FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL

[04] MINISTER OF LABOUR BELGIAN SENATE CHAIRMAN

[01] CYPRUS GOVERNMENT EU TURKEYS PROGRESS REPORT

Acting Government Spokesman Christos Christofides said that the report includes a lot and important positive points and constitutes explicit pressure on Turkey, as it adopts positions supported by the Greek Cypriot side, with regard to the fulfillment of Turkeys obligations towards the Republic of Cyrus and the EU by implementing the Ankara protocol, and the need for Turkey to support in practice and substantively the right settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Christofides listed the most positive points included in report are: the reference to a settlement on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions, the call for the withdrawal of Turkish occupation troops, the reference to UN Security Council resolution 550 which provides for the return of Famagusta to its legal inhabitants, the reference to the need for a halt to illegal settlement, as well as the fact that the EP takes note of the demographic change in Cyprus Turkish occupied areas.

He described as positive the rejection of the amendments regarding the implementation of direct trade between the EU and Cyprus Turkish occupied areas.

Responding to questions, Christofides said that such reports are being used to the benefit of efforts at the negotiating table and in the broader effort in the international arena which serves the interests of Cyprus and its people.

Christofides also noted that the report sends the message to Turkey that it must help itself. It must stop behave arrogantly and see how it will fulfill the obligations it has undertaken towards the Republic of Cyprus and the EU, how it plays its crucial role in the Cyprus problem in order to help to its settlement, he added.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus are currently engaged in UN-led negotiations, with an aim to reunify the island, under a federal roof.

[02] SPOKESMAN CYPRUS ISSUE

The Spokesman commended the rallies in Cyprus northern Turkish occupied areas protesting Turkeys economic package imposed on the Turkish Cypriots.

There are different objectives, some have more of an economic content and others more of a political message, but the demonstrations are a cry of anguish for the sheer existence of the Turkish Cypriots and their future in Cyprus, a protest against the pressure of Turkeys presence and their dependence on Ankara, the Spokesman said of the protests organised in occupied Nicosia by the Turkish Cypriots.

It must be understood that the de facto situation in Cyprus does not serve anybody`s interests, he stressed. It is for that reason that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots must insist on the solution of Cyprus problem, in the framework of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, he remarked.

Regarding the role of Britain as a guarantor power, Stephanou noted that Britain is a guarantor power, an interested party in the Cyprus problem and a permanent member of UN Security Council, adding that Cyprus is seeking the implementation of UN resolutions on Cyprus.

[03] FM - EU FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL

According to an official press release, the Council met in preparation for the extraordinary European Council that will be held tomorrow in Brussels to discuss recent developments in Libya and the wider region.

Following Thursday`s Council, Kyprianou will depart for Hungary where he will participate in the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Gymnich) which will be held on 11 - 12 March.

[04] MINISTER OF LABOUR BELGIAN SENATE CHAIRMAN

Charalambous and Pieters exchanged views on issues concerning employment, social policy and expressed their joint view that European integration should not be confined to the economy alone but it should also cover social policy.

In statements after the meeting, the Cypriot Minister pointed out the cooperation between the two countries in issues relating to social policy and employment, adding that the meeting provided an opportunity to explore ways of further strengthening this cooperation.

``There are issues on which the two countries have a common approach, particularly regarding the need for Europe to combine and balance between sound public finances and a social face which would support the European citizens,`` Charalambous added.

On his part, Pieters described the meeting as fruitful and stressed the benefits emerging for Cyprus and Belgium from the joint exchange of experience and views because the two countries share common values on many aspects of issues relating to social policy.

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