Cassoulides leaves for EU meetings in Brussels

CYPRUS’ Foreign and Defence Ministers, Yiannakis Cassoulides and Socratis Hasikos, left for Brussels yesterday to attend European Union meetings relating to their respective ministries.

Speaking at Larnaca airport before his departure, Cassoulides said today’s Council meeting between the EU and Cyprus was important as it would take place after the EU had determined a unanimous policy on the question of Cyprus, which he described as “positive”.

“The Association Council is now responsible for monitoring the accession course of candidate countries, unlike in the past, where responsibility rested with the European Council, and the common position of the 15 on Cyprus appears positive,” Cassoulides said.

The EU said in Helsinki in 1999 that a settlement in Cyprus would facilitate accession, but was not a precondition.

Cassoulides said yesterday he would see European ministers on three different occasions during his stay in Brussels and intended to raise the Cyprus issue in his intervention on the EU’s crisis prevention policy.

He said a European Court of Human Rights decision last week, which found Turkey guilty of gross human rights violations in Cyprus, would be issued to all those involved in the peace effort to find a comprehensive settlement.

The European court found Turkey guilty of continuous violations of the right to property and ownership of Greek Cypriots, the right to life of missing persons, and the right to a fair trial of civilians tried before military ‘courts’ in the occupied areas.

Hasikos told reporters that individual country’s contribution to a future European defence force would be discussed during his contacts in Brussels.

Commenting on Turkey’s negative stance towards Cyprus’ participation in a European army, Hasikos said: “We are ready to handle any reaction during the Brussels meeting.”

Cyprus has said it would contribute its infrastructure and other services to the force.