Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 07-05-01

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] CYPRUS - EU

[02] STATE DEPARTMENT - REPORT - CYPRUS - TERRORISM

[01] CYPRUS - EU

On the occasion of the third anniversary since the accession of Cyprus to the EU, Pashiardes said in a written statement that the complete and on equal footing accession of Cyprus to the great European family has been an uppermost momentous fact, the result of long-standing visions and efforts of all the Cyprus governments and parliaments but mainly of the sacrifices of our people.

Our accession to the EU is not just a typical presence, but an active and substantive participation in European proceedings, we have a say and a role in European decisions and developments and a responsible use of all the provided European opportunities and challenges, he added.

Pashiardes said that with the equal accession of the whole territory of Cyprus to the EU, the Cyprus problem acquires an European dimension and prospect, adding that we are looking forward to a functional and viable settlement of our national issue, based on the UN principles and the values on which the EU is based.

We pursue, he stressed, a just and viable settlement that will reunify our people and our country, the society and the institutions and which will ensure the prosperity and the progress of all the legal European citizens of our country.

Pashiardes said that negotiations for a Cyprus settlement remain under the UN aegis, but given our accession, the EU, without substituting the United Nations organization, has a role and a say in the settlement of the Cyprus question, so that the solution is compatible with the principles and that values on which the EU was established and functions.

We express our satisfaction, he said, because after painful efforts and on the basis of a well planned strategy, this principle has been accepted and was incorporated to a series of EU relevant decisions.

Three years after our accession to the EU we do not rely on the vindication of our efforts which resulted with the accession. We continue to work hard also for the vindication of our hopes and expectations which accession entails and which concerns all our people and our future. We continue with consistency and stability to use every opportunity and every potential which our participation to the EU provides, to promote a right and permanent settlement of the Cyprus question, Pashiardes concluded.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.

[02] STATE DEPARTMENT - REPORT - CYPRUS - TERRORISM

In the State Departments Country Reports on Terrorism, as far as Cyprus is concerned, it said that despite limited resources, Cyprus took a clear stand against international terrorism and supported U.S. counterterrorism efforts. It said the Cypriot government continued to allow blanket overflight and landing rights to U.S. military aircraft supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, it noted, the government raised concerns about the allegations in a Council of Europe report identifying Cyprus as a ``staging post`` for U.S. rendition flights. It also said that Cyprus was generally supportive of international efforts to block and freeze terrorist assets, implemented Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, and conformed to EU directives on counterterrorism, noting that in 2005, the Director of the Cyprus Central Intelligence Service (KYP) drafted and submitted to parliament legislation to restructure, modernize, and strengthen Cyprus`s intelligence-gathering capabilities.

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