By Jean Christou
CYPRUS decided yesterday to join the latest EU embargo on Yugoslavia, but warned that many of the sanctions were in the hands of a parliament firmly opposed to the measures.
“The government has decided to align itself as far as possible with the new measures which the EU has decided to take,” said government spokesman Costas Serezis.
Cyprus, along with other applicant EU countries, was directly asked by Brussels on Monday, and approached again on Tuesday by a representative of the German EU presidency, to join in the implementation of the new sanctions.
Speaking after yesterday’s Council of Ministers, Serezis said the government would be examining which of the measures could be dealt with by the cabinet and which would require legislative changes.
“On the second issue, we have asked for the opinion of the Attorney-general, ” Serezis said. He said the cabinet did not discuss the specifics.
The new sanctions include a travel ban on relatives of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, as well as people known to have close links with him, a freeze on Yugoslav assets abroad, a tightening of existing sanctions on Belgrade’s external investments and on commercial or private flights between the EU and Yugoslavia.
The government has already joined an EU oil embargo against the Serbs, which the House of Representatives has condemned and asked it to reverse.
The House last week said the embargo was illegal because it had not first been approved by parliament.
Parliament is unlikely to react any more kindly to additional sanctions, and could delay their eventual implementation.
It is believed the government has made the EU aware that certain issues might be out of its hands, but has said it would conform to any sanctions directly under its own jurisdiction.
Commenting on the Cabinet’s decision yesterday, House President Spyros Kyprianou said he disagreed with the government’s move. He dismissed as incorrect the reasoning that Cyprus’ EU accession would be negatively affected by a refusal to implement further sanctions against Yugoslavia. Accession and sanctions were separate issues, he said.
Socialist party Edek also condemned the move, saying it was ran against public opinion and was contrary to both the spirit and the letter of international law.
The main stumbling block in the latest package of sanctions is thought to be the freezing of Yugoslav assets in Cyprus, a move thought by lawyers to require either a UN resolution or a change in the law for its implementation.
Cyprus is already investigating allegations that Serbian money might be illegally channelled onto the island. Reports in the local and foreign media have claimed that Milosevic has millions stashed away in offshore companies in Cyprus. Four of the island’s 30 offshore banks are Yugoslav.
