EU Greens visit Cyprus

A DELEGATION of the Green Group in the European Parliament, headed by Chairman of the EU – Turkey Parliamentary Committee, Joost Lagendijk, has in Cyprus, by invitation of the Cyprus Ecologist and Environmentalist Movement.

The delegation was received yesterday by House of Representatives President Demetris Christofias and is due to meet with EU Commission Representative to Cyprus, Adrian van der Meer.

Yesterday, the delegation crossed into the north to have meetings with Turkish Cypriot politicians Mehmet Ali Talat, Serdar Denktash, Dervis Eroglou and president of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, Ali Erel.

The delegation also visited Famagusta and the British Base at Akrotiri.

Deputy General Secretary of the Cyprus Ecologist and Environmentalist Movement, Dinos Paspalides, said that there are different views between the Cyprus and the European Greens regarding the solution of the Cyprus problem, but noted that there are also areas of convergence.

“There is convergence regarding the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus and the British Bases. But we disagree in the substance of the Cyprus issue. We do not accept the Annan plan as a basis for a solution, whereas the European Greens have a different view. We try to make them understand our views through dialogue,” he said.

Paspalides also referred to the meetings the Cyprus Greens had last week in Brussels and Strasbourg, where they met with MEPs and EU technocrats, in order to discuss the Cyprus problem and environmental issues.

“We are pleased by the response and the acceptance of our positions during the meetings. When you go there with positions based on International Law and the European Constitution, it is hard to find any disagreement,” he concluded.

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.