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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 03-07-16
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Wednesday, 16 July 2003 No new peace initiative until end of September,
says Foreign Minister
[02] British Foreign Secretary stresses need for Cyprus settlement to his
Turkish counterpart
[03] Eurostat: Cyprus has highest employment rate among acceding states
[01] No new peace initiative until end of September, says Foreign
Minister
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Georgios Iacovou, has expressed the
belief that no new development regarding the resumption of the peace talks
was expected until the end of September, when the President would meet with
the UN Secretary-General on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly
meeting in New York. In statements to the press yesterday after the
extraordinary plenary session of the House of Representatives to denounce
the twin crimes against the Republic of Cyprus, the July 1974 coup d'etat
and the Turkish invasion that followed, the Foreign Minister noted that
Cyprus' accession to the European Union would help safeguard democratic
institutions. He added that the Greek Cypriot side was seeking a settlement
of the Cyprus problem the soonest possible, so that Turkish Cypriots would
be able to share the benefits emanating from EU membership.
Invited to say whether he foresaw any prospects for resuming the peace
talks, Mr Iacovou said, "Although things do not look positive at this
moment, I believe that at some stage Turkey, promoting its own interests,
will pressure Mr Denktash to return to the negotiating table". He further
said that some countries were already pressuring Turkey towards that
direction but it was not responding. "Some foreign governments strongly
believe that for as long as Mr Denktash is handling the matter on behalf of
the Turkish Cypriots, no progress will be made, and so they prefer for the
dialogue to start after the illegal elections in the pseudostate", Mr
Iacovou concluded.
[02] British Foreign Secretary stresses need for Cyprus settlement to his
Turkish counterpart
The Foreign Secretary had reiterated the need for a Cyprus solution on the
basis of the UN plan during his meeting with his Turkish counterpart on 3
July 2003, Britain's Minister of State for Europe, Mr Denis MacShane said
in reply to questions at the House of Commons last week. In other
statements on Cyprus, Mr MacShane said that "the promotion and protection
of human rights in the north of Cyprus would be best achieved through a
comprehensive settlement on the basis of the UN plan", noting that "Turkey
has repeatedly committed herself to supporting that process". On Turkey,
the British Minister said his government welcomed Turkey's recent
commitment to pay the compensation awarded by the European Court of Human
Rights to Ms Loizidou, and added that "we remain strong supporters of
Turkey's EU candidacy and we encourage the Turks to continue their process
of legislative reforms in order to meet the Copenhagen political criteria,
and particularly the priorities set out in the revised Accession Partnership".
Replying to another question on the recent incursions by Turkish military
aircrafts in the Aegean Sea, Mr MacShane noted that "any action which has
as its objective the increase of tension or the deterioration of bilateral
relations between two countries is a matter of regret to the British
Government", adding that his government "welcomes contacts which continue
between the Governments of Greece and Turkey at a political and official
level with a view to the consolidation of improvements in bilateral
relations". Furthermore, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued a
statement as regards the latest proposal by the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf
Denktash on the reopening of the Nicosia Airport, which reads as follows:
"Any issue to improve the lives of both communities is welcome. But, and
this is a big but, it is no substitute for a comprehensive solution on the
basis of the UN Secretary General's plan."
[03] Eurostat: Cyprus has highest employment rate among acceding states
The Labour Force Survey for Spring 2002, issued by Eurostat on Monday and
which refers to the employment rates in the EU, Eurozone, EFTA and Acceding
countries for Spring 2002, has placed Cyprus top of the list among the ten
acceding countries with a total employment rate, for the age class 15-64,
of 68,5%. The average employment rate for the EU 15 was 64,2% and for the
acceding states 56,1%. According to the survey results, during Spring 2002,
Cyprus had a youth unemployment rate (age class 15-24) of 3,1%, while the
equivalent EU average was 6,9%. The employment rate for women in Cyprus
reached 59%, compared to 55,5% of the equivalent EU average. Cyprus also
had the lowest unemployment rate during that period among the acceding
states. Overall, the survey has showed that in Spring 2002, 163 million
people had a job in the EU, 1.7 million more than in Spring 2001. The
corresponding employment rate for the age class 15-64 rose from 63,9% in
2001 to 64,2% in 2002. The employment rate for women increased from 54,8%
to 55,5%. In the acceding states, 28.9 million people had a job in Spring
2002, corresponding to an employment rate of 56,1% for the age class 15-64.
The employment rate for women was 50,3%.
Eurostat is the Statistical Office of the European Communities and is based
in Luxembourg.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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