Vassiliou dismisses questions about legality of his position

By Martin Hellicar

GEORGE Vassiliou yesterday dismissed reports that the Attorney-general had questioned his position as head of Cyprus’ EU accession talks team. But the government seemed uncertain on the issue.

The United Democrats (UD) leader and deputy was responding to a ruling by Alecos Markides publicised by Sigma television and Simerininewspaper.

According to the reports, the ruling stated Vassiliou was not a member of the government but rather a “private individual” and could thus not take executive decisions. Vassiliou did not deny this was the content of the ruling, but said it presented “no problem” for his position as EU negotiator.

The former President said the ruling was made in February 1998 – just before his appointment as EU negotiator – and Markides had been present when the Cabinet later defined his remit as EU negotiator. The implication was that had the Attorney-general seen a problem with his appointment he would have pointed this out to ministers.

“Without question, my co-operation with the Attorney-general on all issues has been both close and immaculate,” Vassiliou said. “Basically what the ruling said was that for duties to be assigned there had to be a cabinet decision,” the UD leader said.

“There have been two cabinet decisions assigning me my specific duties.”

But government spokesman Costas Serezis appeared less that clear on the issue. “Mr Vassiliou was appointed to the position he holds today after a cabinet decision. If there is any sticking point of a constitutional nature, we (the cabinet) will again seek the advice of the Attorney-general,” he told his daily press briefing.

When pressed for further explanation, he seemed non-plussed: “I don’t have details to give you, Mr Markides, as you know, is abroad… I don’t know… it is a very delicate issue.”

Vassiliou’s appointment as head of the accession talks team has been the subject for much debate, with his political opponents repeatedly questioning its legality.

Diko deputy Marios Matsakis has recently challenged the constitutional legitimacy of Vassiliou’s dual role as EU negotiator and UD deputy.

Vassiliou said yesterday he expected Markides’s ruling on Matsakis’s challenge soon and was confident the Attorney-general would find in his favour.

“He told me that for him there was no issue,” Vassiliou said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.