Euro – Ombudsman: Citizens must know their rights

European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamantouros, who concluded his visit here, said Cypriots must know their rights emanating from aquis communautaire adding “these rights are part of the national law”.
Diamantouros said that the objective of his visit was to brief the new political leadership of the island and the citizens for their rights “regardless of their nationality”. The “European citizenship” which all citizens of EU member states living in Cyprus enjoy gives certain rights, such as the right to vote at elections for the European Parliament, to appeal to the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament or to the Euro – Ombudsman’s office.
The aquis communautaire is part of the national law, said Diamantouros, explaining that he is responsible for violations of the aquis by the European Institutions such as the Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament.
“If an organisation or a government department violates the European law in Cyprus you will have to appeal to the Ombudswoman, Liana Nicolaou”, the Euro – Ombudsman said.
“The European law is an inextricable part of the internal law order of every member state”, Diamantouros said, adding that as of 1/1/2009 the Lisbon Treaty will be ratified and the Charter of Fundamental Rights will become legally binding.
He noted that he was pleased to hear the Cypriot President expressing his support to the Ombudsman, the Cypriot as well as the European one.
Referring to the Cypriots, Diamantouros said that they appeal to his office more often taking into consideration the small population of the country and they are sensitive for environment issues.
In comparison to other member states, the Cypriots seem to appeal frequently to the Committee of Petitions of the Europarliament, said the head of the European Parliament Office in Cyprus, Tasos Georgiou.
Asked if his decisions are respected by the European institutions, Diamantouros said that the Ombudsman’s decisions are not binding and therefore it is very important that he has the skill of persuasion.
He further noted the importance of the conference that will take place in Cyprus in April 2009 with the participation of the Ombudsmen and Ombudswomen of all 27 EU member states and the candidate countries, including Turkey “which does not yet have an Ombudsman”.
Democracy, said Diamantouros, is not just the right of the majority to do whatever it wants but also to respect the rights of the minority and of a person.
Ombudswoman Iliana Nicolaou thanked Diamantouros for his visit to the island, stressing the excellent level of relations Cyprus maintains with the Euro – Ombudsman. She also said that very often European citizens appeal to her office for the violation of their rights in Cyprus.