Speculation Over Cyprus' EU Accession Prospects Quashed

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

19 September 2002

A Reuters report suggesting that Cyprus' accession to the EU may be delayed in order to avoid upsetting Turkey and disturbing the balance within the European Union has been robustly denied by the Island's government.

Although Turkey has threatened to annex Northern Cyprus if the Greek Cypriot section of the Island accedes alone, and Greece has threaten to block the entire enlargement process if Cyprus is not among the first wave of new countries to join the EU, leading officials from within the European bloc have repeatedly stressed that reunification, although desirable, is not a precondition for entry to the Union.

Speaking on Tuesday, a government spokesman confirmed this to be the case, announcing with regard to the Reuters report that: 'This information is totally unfounded. All information, all indications and everything we are told show exactly the opposite, namely that Cyprus will be among the first wave of enlargement and that nothing can reverse that course. Consequently, such press reports are untrue.'

However, the spokesman revealed that the government does not intend to investigate the matter further, preferring not to enter into a 'witch hunt' with the international media.

'The reporter probably got information from Turkish sources, which express their desires in this way,' the government official suggested.

Recommended