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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 01-10-31
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
Wednesday, 31 October 2001
CONTENTS
- [01] One needs two to tango!
[01] One needs two to tango!
Foreign Minister, Ioannis Kasoulides met on 30 October 2001 with the
European Parliament's Rapporteur for Cyprus' Accession to the EU, Jacques
Poos, to discuss issues related to Cyprus' accession to the EU and the
Cyprus problem.
Following the meeting, Mr Poos stated that "the European Institutions are
convinced that any obstacles to Cyprus' accession to the EU can be overcome
when one considers the great efforts made by the government of the Republic
of Cyprus and the House of Representatives for the harmonisation process
with the acquis communautaire. There is one obstacle, however, which cannot
be dealt by the government alone and that is the political solution for the
island/s unification. At this point, we need the contribution of the
Turkish Cypriots side and I can only agree with the statement made by the
President of the European Commission, Mr Prodi, that the window is still
open. It is still open until the end of the year, until the beginning of
2002 and it will close when we/ll be ready to sign the Accession Treaty".
Mr Poos added that he would like to see all political parties on the island
expressing their firm commitment to the political solution of the Cyprus
problem the soonest possible. "Mr Denktash's criticism that the Republic of
Cyprus is not interested in a political solution to the problem should not
be accepted. The Republic of Cyprus must continue to struggle towards a
political solution, however, for that to be made possible one needs two to
tango", the Euro-MP noted.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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