I
wish to warmly congratulate the newly-elected Cypriot members of the
European Parliament, who I firmly believe will represent effectively
the interests of the people of Cyprus within the European Parliament
and will promote social cohesion, the values and principles on which
the EU is based as well as the rights of Cyprus through their own
voice.
I
congratulate all the candidates for their participation in this
important electoral campaign and for the high level of political
ethos they have demonstrated.
I
also congratulate all the agencies and the civil service officers
involved, who deserve high praise for the excellent conduct of the
elections.
I
warmly congratulate, in particular, all the people of Cyprus for the
maturity they have shown during these elections, away from fanaticism
and excesses.
Nevertheless,
the high level of abstention in the elections to choose the
representatives to the European Parliament, is a major issue that
must be seriously considered and discussed both at the level of the
EU leaders as well as by the political forces. In fact, this issue
will be included in the European Council agenda during tomorrow’s
meeting. It is important that the European citizens are persuaded
through the right policies, which address their needs,
that Europe and its institutions stand by their side, in order for
them to participate energetically in the affairs of European.
Far
from any effort to sound triumphant, I cannot but express my
satisfaction for the high level of confidence with which the Cypriot
people credited the forces that support the Government, particularly
if one takes into consideration that in the rest of the countries
that are under a (financial) support program, but also in other
countries that are not bound by any Memorandum, the governing
political parties suffered a reduction in their voting numbers.
We
will continue to govern with the same sense of responsibility,
implementing effective policies that ultimately aim toward the
successful management of the economic crisis, especially the problems
that the vulnerable groups of citizens face, while at the same time,
and in cooperation with the rest of the political forces, we will
continue the efforts for the successful handling of our national
issue, the Cyprus problem.
------------------
