The President of the Republic
met
with the President of the European
Parliament
The President of the Republic, Mr Nicos Anastasiades,
welcomed today at the Presidential Palace the President of the European
Parliament, Mr Martin Schulz, who is paying an official visit to Cyprus.
Mr Schulz arrived at the Presidential Palace at 9.30am
where he was officially welcomed by the President of the Republic, while a
military honorary guard presented honors.
The National Anthem of the Republic of Cyprus and the
Anthem of the European Union were performed.
The two Presidents had a private meeting followed by
expanded talks between the delegations of the two sides.
Later on the Presidents made joint statements to the
Media.
In his remarks, President Anastasiades said the
following: “It is a truly great pleasure to receive today in Nicosia a friend of
Cyprus, the President of the European Parliament, Mr Martin Schulz.
First of all, I take this opportunity, Mr President, to
express once again my strong condemnation of the abhorrent terrorist attacks
that occurred on the 22 nd of March in Brussels. I would also like to
underline our unwavering support and solidarity to Belgium and its people.
Brussels is the capital city of 28 European countries and we stand ready to
defend our democratic values and way of life. Indeed, these heinous acts have
united us further to decisively and collectively take action to fight
terrorism.
During today’s fruitful exchange, I had the opportunity
to inform Mr Schulz on the current state of negotiations for reaching a
comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem. I thanked Mr Schulz for his
strong support to the efforts underway. President Schulz and I agree that the
Cyprus problem is a European problem and that the solution should be in line
with the principles and values of the European Union.
To this end, I have reiterated to Mr Schulz that the
contribution of the European Parliament is of utmost importance.
In this regard, the Government of Cyprus is following with great
interest the developments concerning the adoption of the European Parliament’s
Resolution on 2015 Progress Report on Turkey, which is expected to be discussed
at the European Parliament’s plenary session next month. It provides an
opportunity to convey an unequivocal message that it is high time for Turkey to
fulfil
its obligations vis-à-vis the EU, which will pave the way for progress in
Turkey’s European path.
And as I have explained, we, more than anyone, are in
favor of Turkey’s accession process.
Moreover, with President Schulz we reaffirmed that the
current unprecedented migration crisis on the one hand, and Turkey’s accession
negotiations on the other hand, are two distinct processes that must not be
linked. As I did during the recent visit of the President of the European
Council to Cyprus, I reiterated our clear position that the unfreezing of
chapters in Turkey’s accession negotiations depends solely on Turkey fulfilling
its obligations, as outlined in Turkey’s Negotiating Framework, including the
implementation of the Additional Protocol towards the Republic of Cyprus.
On the migration crisis, and in light of the outcome of the 17-18
March Summit of the European Council, w e
noted that effective implementation of the agreement that was reached after long
and difficult negotiations is imperative in order to avoid further losses of
lives at sea and help Greece and other EU member states manage the humanitarian
crisis. We expect that the agreements will be in full compliance and all
commitments made with the EU on the matter will be implemented by the interested
parties.”
On his part President Schulz thanked the President of
the Republic for his references “on the terrorist attacks in Brussels, which
affected the European institutions directly,” and said that among the victims of
the attacks were employees of the EU institutions.
He added that with regard to the hijacked plane in
Larnaka, “the professional and effective management” of the government will lead
to a good outcome on the matter and to the safety of the passengers involved.
“We are facing many issues and we have to tackle a lot
of problems within the EU, but one of the most important items is the Cyprus
problem. A solution here in a time of deep crisis, multiple crisis, is a signal
of hope and a signal of courage,” a signal of “the role a unified Cyprus could
play as a stabilizing element in the whole region.
I am here to express our full support for the ongoing
negotiations and this is a unique chance for all of us. But quite clear it is a
Cypriot negotiation.
I am here also to listen, to look and understand because
when things are entering details it is always much more difficult than to look
at the overall scenario.
We had a very extensive exchange, I understood some of
the elements much better listening to the President and I thank you Mr President
for some advice I got in our meeting. Especially about the role of the European
Parliament.
I asked the President to tell me what are your
expectations, what can we, as an EU institution, do to be constructive, and I am
here to lend my full support to the remarkable progress that has been made in
Cyprus especially during the last year. This is an enormous progress, two years
ago nobody would believe that we are where we are, but we have not yet
concluded. I want to express the support of the EU Parliament.”
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