Government ratifies EU treaty

Historic vote interrupted by bomb hoax

THE HOUSE last night ratified the European Constitution, becoming the first country to approve the Treaty following its rejection by founder nations France and the Netherlands.

The Treaty was approved by majority vote as government partners AKEL, the only party to do so, voted against.

The ratification, which came after a two-day debate, was immediately welcomed by the European Commission.

“This is a very positive decision, which will be widely recognised by the European Union,” EU Ambassador Adrian Van der Meer, told the Cyprus Mail.

He added: “It sets a good example for future ratification processes.”

The next country set to decide on the constitution is Luxemburg in a referendum on July 10.
“It is expected that this would further boost the ratification process,” Van der Meer said.
Foreign Minister George Iacovou suggested it was a big day for Cyprus and a very important day for Europe.

When a journalist suggested that the government had two voices due to AKEL’s rejection of the Treaty, the foreign minister said: “The government is one, it is the government of President Tassos Papadopoulos and is expressed with one voice, the voice of the president and the cabinet.”

But Cyprus’ ratification of the Constitutional Treaty meant little in practical terms and the whole process elsewhere was up in the air, experts suggested.

Closer to home, the ratification of the Treaty came as a negation to a resolution on the British bases, which was only approved by Parliament just a couple of hours earlier.

In the resolution, the House stressed its opposition to the inclusion of provisions for the British bases as they were encompassed in the Constitutional Treaty of Europe.

Discussion on the Treaty came to an abrupt halt earlier yesterday after a bomb threat.
House Speaker Demetris Christofias interrupted a speech to announce the evacuation of the building due to a telephone bomb threat.

It was around 12pm when the bomb squad entered the building only to confirm that the threat had been a hoax.

House director Costakis Christophorou said the call could not be traced.
The debate resumed at 3pm.

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.