CYPRUS’ chief EU negotiator said yesterday the island expected to close another four to six chapters in its EU harmonisation in the coming months, bringing it more than 80 per cent of the way towards full accession.
Speaking after briefing President Glafcos Clerides on recent developments, George Vassiliou said Cyprus would close the harmonisation chapter on free movement of capital on Thursday.
He said that this chapter, which is closely linked to stamping out money laundering, would be one of four chapters expected to be closed before the end of Sweden’s current six-month EU presidency.
Vassiliou said it was significant that the European Commission had consented to the chapter being closed: “This means they are satisfied with the explanations we have given on how we handle the issue of money laundering.”
Cyprus has come under considerable criticism in the last decade for its suspected role in Serbian and Russian money laundering.
Vassiliou said Cyprus had been granted a five-year adjustment period on allowing European citizens to purchase a second home on the island, an aspect of the chapter on the free movement of capital.
He said progress had also been made on a series of other chapters, such as the free movement of individuals, co-operative services, transport and energy.
“We hope that we will be able to close between four and six chapters during the Swedish presidency, something that will be especially significant since we will then have covered more than four-fifths of the way to completing negotiations,” Vassiliou said.
He reiterated that a solution to the Cyprus problem was not a prerequisite to the island’s EU accession and that the EU would not consider giving Turkey the right to veto Cyprus’ accession.
Vassiliou said Turkey would eventually have to choose between solving the Cyprus problem or being isolated by the EU.
“Turkey has begun to raise its tone and I believe it will continue to try to intimidate and blackmail us in various ways. Our answer to these threatening statements has to be clear and persistent. We want a solution, Turkey is the one not moving in that direction. However, even if there is no solution, Turkey can still not keep us out of Europe.”
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.
