Consequences Of EU Membership For Cyprus To Be Examined

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

01 September 2006

The Single Market Observatory of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) announced this week that it will be collecting contributions from Cypriot civil society actors during the public hearing it is organizing on September 8 in Nicosia.

As a peripheral Member State with a unique location and in a complex situation, the EESC feels that Cyprus deserves particular attention.

Among the questions likely to be raised at the hearing are:

• What is the impact of enlargement on Cyprus economic and social life?
• How do consumers, workers, farmers, small and medium size enterprises, large companies, the professions and many other actors of local life feel about the changes brought about by EU membership?
• What recommendations would these actors want to pass on to the European regulator?
• To what extent can they hope to have an influence on the design of Community legislation? What information relays can they count on to be heard?

The European Economic and Social Committee, composed of representatives of civil society organizations, is an advisory body which, through its membership, is deeply rooted in the everyday life of the Union's citizens.

The EESC's Single Market Observatory is a "pragmatic instrument designed to feel the pulse of organised civil society in the Member States, to identify where the market's functioning could be improved or where obstacles are preventing citizens from enjoying the full benefits of the market", according to the EC.

The EESC members, as representatives of European organised civil society, will listen to their counterparts in Cyprus with a view to passing their messages on to the legislator and the regulator. They will also answer questions and clarify situations arising from EU membership.

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