Euro parliament chief arrives tonight

THE LEADER of the European Parliament will arrive in Cyprus tonight for a short visit, during which he will meet with Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders.

President Pat Cox’s visit takes place just three days before the European Union summit in Copenhagen, during which Cyprus and nine other candidate countries are expected to be invited to join in 2004.

Cox will kick off his two-day stay by meeting with House President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot party leaders on Sunday afternoon.

That evening, he will participate in a round table discussion at the Ledra Palace, in the UN-controlled buffer zone, with the Trade Unions and Chambers of Commerce. After the discussion, Cox will give a press conference.

On Monday morning, he will meet with President Glafcos Clerides and then attend the third Cyprus summit, part of a series of conferences hosted by The Economist.

During a mid-morning break from the summit, Cox will attend the official opening of the Nicosia Master Plan, which the European Commission has helped finance, in front of the Ottoman Bath in the Old Town.

In the early afternoon, Cox will give the keynote speech at the summit luncheon before leaving Cyprus.

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.