American Hellenic Institute

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AHI Welcomes European Parliament Statement On Cyprus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: JONATHAN CLARKE
October 7 2000 No. 48/00 (202) 785-8430

AHI Welcomes European Parliament Statement On Cyprus

On October 4, 2000 the European Parliament voted (483 to 12 with 33 abstentions) to approve the resolution introduced by the Rapporteur of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defense Policy, Mr. Jacques Poos.

The resolution notes the capacity of the European Union to make a vital contribution to the security of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities within the framework of a peace settlement and the demilitarization of the island. It states that the EU can help resolve the problem of the controlled return of refugees and the repatriation of the settlers, and that it can make a dynamic contribution to the development of the northern part of Cyprus, once reunification has taken place. It also believes that the accession of Cyprus will strengthen stability in the eastern Mediterranean.

The resolution supports early accession for Cyprus on the understanding agreed at the December 1999 Helsinki summit that a solution to the Cyprus problem is not a precondition for accession.

The resolution further deplores the lack of goodwill on the part of the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey in reaching a political agreement on the future of the island on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. It urges the Turkish Cypriot community unconditionally to join the delegation of the legal government of Cyprus. It also deplores the action of Turkish troops in Cyprus who in September illegally advanced troops within the buffer zone in the Strovilia area.

AHI welcomes this resolution, especially its reaffirmation that the accession of Cyprus to the EU is not conditional on the settlement of the Cyprus problem and its call for the settlement to be on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.