Substantive Accession Negotiations - Ministerial Meeting (21.6.99)

The normal development of the negotiating process for Cyprus’ accession to the EU was reaffirmed at the third intergovernmental conference for Cyprus’ accession to the European Union, which was held at ministerial level on 21 June. The good performance of Cyprus was acknowledged both by the German Presidency and the European Commission. According to the official figures of the EU, which were made public the same day, Cyprus has the leading position among the six first wave applicant countries as regards its performance in the harmonisation process.

In his opening statement the President of the EU Council of Ministers, Deputy Foreign Minister of Germany, Mr Gunter Verhengen, welcoming the Cypriot delegation, said that substantial progress has been made since the previous Cyprus-EU intergovernmental conference at ministerial level (Brussels, 10.11.98) and that the EU is determined to continue at the same pace. Mr Verhengen welcomed the fact that all the candidate countries have made great progress. Referring especially to Cyprus, he said that out of the 15 chapters that have been screened and on which substantive negotiations were carried out, 10 have already closed and do not require further negotiation for the time being.

The President of the Council expressed regret for the fact that a solution to the Cyprus problem has not yet been achieved but welcomed the fact that Cyprus continues to inform the Turkish Cypriots in Turkish about the accession negotiations, particularly through the web page on the Internet. He also expressed the EU’s support for the UN Secretary-General’s efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus problem.

Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, Mr Hans van den Broek said he was happy about the progress achieved so far and stressed that this progress was much greater than what the EU had expected. Commissioner van den Broek said that the 10 chapters had closed thanks to the close cooperation between the two sides. He also praised Cyprus’ efforts for its positive contribution to the screening procedure. Mr van den Broek expressed the hope that progress in the negotiations will contribute to a Cyprus settlement.

The Cyprus Foreign Minister, Mr Ioannis Kasoulides, assured the European partners that Cyprus would redouble its efforts in order to be ready for accession and meet its obligations successfully as a member of the EU. He also said that the timely and effective preparation for accession is a commitment shared by all sides concerned in Cyprus, both the public and private sectors.

Referring to the efforts made to keep the Turkish Cypriots constantly informed about the accession process, Mr Kasoulides said that, apart from the web page on the Internet, the Cyprus Government has informed the European Commission of its intention to undertake the translation of the main body of the acquis communautaire into the Turkish language for the benefit of the Turkish Cypriots with funds from the Fourth Financial Protocol.

He also expressed the Cyprus Government’s support for the setting up of a non-governmental forum in Brussels where Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot trade unions and organisations can meet, discuss issues pertaining to Cyprus’ accession process and get first hand information.

Referring to the Cyprus problem, Mr Kasoulides agreed that there has been no progress in the efforts to achieve a political settlement and reconciliation in order to end the division of Cyprus despite Cyprus’ sincere and continuous efforts to that effect. However, he described as encouraging the Declaration on the Cyprus problem adopted by the G8 regarding the resumption of talks in the Autumn at the invitation of the UN Secretary-General.

According to information officially released by the EU, accession negotiations regarding Cyprus have been successfully completed on 10 out of the 15 chapters that have been negotiated since March 1998. On the other hand Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic have completed negotiations on eight chapters and Poland and Estonia on seven.

The chapters on Company Law, Competition, the Free Movement of Goods, Fisheries, and Common Foreign and Security Policy still remain open for Cyprus.

The full text of the Cyprus Foreign Minister, Mr Ioannis Kasoulides’ statement can be found in the Archives.