Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 99-06-23

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

Wednesday, 23 June 1999

CONTENTS

• [01] Cyprus on the right track in its EU accession talks

[01] Cyprus on the right track in its EU accession talks

"The Union is determined to maintain the dynamics of the accession process and I am confident this pace and speed will be continued under the Finnish presidency", he said.

Mr Verheugen was speaking at a joint press conference with Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides and EU Commissioner Hans van den Broek on the deliberations of the Cyprus-EU Intergovernmental Conference held on 21 June in Luxembourg.

He added that improvement towards the political settlement would help accession negotiations and vice versa.

On his part Mr Kasoulides said that the Cyprus government remains steadfast in its commitment to a solution of the Cyprus problem and has the necessary political will, which it has demonstrated on several occasions, to negotiate and reach a settlement.

"We will be as constructive and positive to this effect in the future as we have been in the past, because we want to see our Turkish Cypriot compatriots working with us and sharing with us the task and responsibility of preparing Cyprus for accession and also to enjoy the benefits of membership with all Cypriots", he said.

EU Commissioner Hans van den Broek congratulated Cyprus for the progress made so far in its accession negotiations with 15 chapters opened and 10 concluded.

"If the process continues at the same pace, we may count on all the issues and also the difficult ones being on the table by the middle of next year", he added.

He said that if the negotiations on the political process ran half as fast as the accession negotiations, a political solution would not be far away.

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

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