Pourgourides asks for home support on Human Rights post

 

THE EUROPEAN People’s Party (EPP) is backing former DISY deputy Christos Pourgourides for the position of Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner but he is still waiting for his own government’s support, he said yesterday. 

Pourgourides told CyBC’s Trito programme that he had the explicit support of a number of high profile people within the European Union. 

“The Italian Foreign Minister (Franco Frattini) who coordinates the European Foreign Ministers belonging to the EPP has sent a letter to all his colleagues asking them to instruct (their members) to support me,” he said. 

Pourgourides added that EEP’s President, Wilfried Martens, former Prime Minister of Belgium, had also asked relevant Justice and Foreign Ministers to support him. 

“It seems that (my) chances are very good,” Pourgourides said, cautiously adding however that “no one can know” for sure with elections. 

Pourgourides said that over two weeks ago he had asked Cyprus’ Foreign Minister, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, to support his candidacy on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus. 

He has, as of yet, received no formal support, a thing which he says may “bring about questions on why the government does not support (the candidacy).”

Kozakou-Marcoullis was yesterday unavailable to comment. 

Pourgourides said that he did not think there was any opposition at the home front. 

Centre-right EEP is the largest political group within the European parliament, holding 265 seats out of a total of 552 seats in its current (2009-14) term. 

The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe. 

It aims to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in its member states.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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