Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 11-06-16

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

CONTENTS

[01] DOWNER - CYPRUS TALKS - TURKEY

[02] MARKOULLIS - EU COUNCIL

[03] EUROSTAT - INFLATION

[04] CYPRUS - BATHING WATER

[01] DOWNER - CYPRUS TALKS - TURKEY

Speaking to the press after todays meeting of the two leaders, Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot community leader Dervis Eroglu, Downer said he will be traveling to Turkey on Friday, noting that it is a good time for the Turkish government to meet with the UN to talk about the issue of Cyprus and the pace of the negotiations here, particularly in advance of the meeting in Geneva with the SG.

Downer said that on Thursday the leaders exchanged views about the meeting with the SG as well as various aspects of governance and power sharing, including the treaty making capacity of the federal government in a united Cyprus and the capacity of the state to make international agreements.

Invited by the press to give more details about the meeting with the Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu, Downer said that it will focus on two aspects of the process, the policy questions, the differences there are between the two sides particularly on core issues, and the importance of those differences being bridged and secondly on the meeting that SG is going to have with the two sides.

The UN official noted that we are obviously enthusiastic to share our views with Turkey as well as Greece and the diplomatic community more generally about how that meeting should be conducted and the way forward after that meeting.

Asked whether he will be visiting Greece as well, Downer said that it isnt an appropriate time to go to Greece, explaining that they have well known economic issues and I don`t want to make a nuisance of myself there, noting though that I very much keep in touch with the Greek government as I do with the Turkish.

He added that both of these countries can play a very constructive role in this process and the Cyprus issue is important to both of them.

Downer announced that the next meeting of the two leaders will take place on June 21 at 10.00 am.

[02] MARKOULLIS - EU COUNCIL

Markoullis said that efforts should be made to force Turkey to lift the restrictions it imposes against Cyprus and hence the EU in the sectors of maritime and air transport, adding that the illegal Turkish embargo adversely affects transport with significant negative financial and environmental consequences.

Welcoming the White Paper, Markoullis said that it was of strategic importance, a roadmap that should guide the community and national actions. She also welcomed the fact that the White Paper recognises the international nature of transport and that effective action demanded tight international cooperation and regulations.

The maritime and air transport sectors, which are facing increasing challenges beyond the borders and control of the EU, need a careful policy on behalf of the EU member states to achieve convergences and legislative regulations on an international level, otherwise the competitiveness of EU transport will be at stake with detrimental political and economic repercussions, Markoullis added.

[03] EUROSTAT - INFLATION

EU annual inflation was 3.2% in May 2011, down from 3.3% in April. A year earlier the rate was 2.1%. Monthly inflation was 0.1% in May 2011.

In May 2011, the lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (1.2%), Sweden (1.7%) and the Czech Republic (2.0%), and the highest in Romania (8.5%), Estonia (5.5%) and Lithuania (5.0%). Compared with April 2011, annual inflation rose in fourteen member states, remained stable in four and fell in nine.

The lowest 12-month averages up to May 2011 were registered in Ireland (-0.2%), Sweden (1.5%) and the Netherlands (1.6%), and the highest in Romania (7.5%), Greece (4.8%) and Estonia (4.5%).

[04] CYPRUS - BATHING WATER

The results are from the annual Bathing Water Report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission, which compare water quality in more than 21,000 coastal and inland bathing sites across the EU-27.

Cyprus was the star performer, with 100% of its bathing water sites meeting strict guide values, followed by Croatia (97.3%), Malta (95.4%), Greece (94.2%) and Ireland (90.1%).

According to the European Commission, the quality of bathing water across Europe declined slightly between 2009 and 2010, but the overall quality was still high. More than 9 out of 10 bathing water sites now meet the minimum requirements.

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