Cyprus supports EU accession of Croatia

Cyprus supports both the enlargement and the accession of Croatia and other southeastern European states to the EU, said the island’s ambassador to Austria Stavros Epaminondas during the unofficial meeting of the European Affairs Ministers of southeastern Europe that took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia, 8-10 July.

The representatives of EU member states stressed the European prospects of countries of southeastern Europe and referred to the great efforts undertaken by these countries to satisfy the necessary conditions for accession to the EU.

In his intervention, Epaminondas said that Cyprus supports both the enlargement and accession of Croatia and other southeastern European states to the EU.

He also said that Cyprus has shown its trust to Europe and the union’s future with the ratification of the EU Constitution and is ready to cooperate with its European partners to overcome the current crisis.

The Cypriot diplomat said that Cyprus, which has suffered from clashes and the economic and other repercussions of the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island, such as ethnic cleansing and the issue of refugees, is in a position to understand better than other countries, the problems of the area and the hopes of the people of the countries that have been touched by war.

Epaminondas said the people of Cyprus and the peoples of other member states expect from all candidates or under accession countries to fully implement the acquis communautaire, to satisfy the Copenhagen criteria, to respect principles of international law and decisions of international justice and maintain a policy of friendship and cooperation with all member states as well as good neighbourhood so that the accession of one country will be a stability factor and not instability at European borders.