THE NATIONAL Council will not be accompanying the President to the European summit in Copenhagen, House president Demetris Christofias said yesterday.
Speaking after a meeting with party leaders and representatives, Christofias said party leaders would not be going to Copenhagen, where the European Union would be taking its final decisions concerning enlargement.
It was not clear who floated the idea but DISY and the United Democrats were in favour of accompanying the President. KISOS did not take a stance because its leader was absent in London while ADIK said it would go if everyone else did.
DIKO and AKEL, as well as the two one-seat parties New Horizons and the Greens disagreed with the suggestion, reports said.
The main argument was that no pressure could be exerted on Clerides to sign or agree to anything if the national council were absent since the President would have to confer with them.
Clerides has already made it clear he was not planning to engage in any substantial negotiations over the UN blueprint in Copenhagen.
Christofias said it would be impossible for the President to sign any solution when he was bound by the national council’s decision that negotiations were necessary before any agreement.
DIKO leader Tassos Papadopoulos noted that Clerides was going to Copenhagen for the island’s accession into the EU and not to negotiate a settlement of the Cyprus problem and that was why the national council was not accompanying him.
The presence of the council in Copenhagen “could have given the message to some that we are gong there ready to negotiate”, Papadopoulos added.
But other reports said that opposition parties, who fear there would be negative developments in Copenhagen, did not want to bear any responsibility for anything that happens concerning the island’s accession or the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
The only party leader who would be in Copenhagen is DISY’s Nicos Anastassiades who would be attending the European Popular Party conference.
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