Political Quotes

“the Senate has recently passed by unanimous consent a resolution, S. Con. Res. 122, that I, along with Senators Biden and Sarbanes introduced expressing support for Cyprus' membership in the European Union, EU. This is a timely and significant statement of support for the Senate to make on the cusp of Cyprus' membership and I would like to thank Senators Biden and Sarbanes for their efforts toward achieving the passage of S. Con. Res. 122. Just this past month, Cyprus moved yet another step closer to its goal of EU membership. At the end of October, the 15 European nations met in Brussels and endorsed the recommendations of the European Commission that Cyprus and nine other countries become EU members in 2004. It was agreed that Cyprus had fulfilled the political criteria for accession and will be able to meet the economic criteria and assume the obligations of membership. It is expected that an official invitation for membership will be expanded this December, with accession in 2004. The EU countries did reaffirm the call for continuing efforts by President Clerides and Turkish-Cypriots to work toward a solution to the Cyprus problem by the end of the year. However, as was stated at the Helsinki Summit in 1999, such a solution is not a precondition for Cyprus' membership. After 27 years Cyprus remains a divided nation. However, as an EU member, the entire island of Cyprus will see economic benefits.”