News from Cyprus

CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

PACE President: we can contribute to a Cyprus solution

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) can contribute towards a political settlement in Cyprus, Assembly President Rene van der Linden has stressed. According to a PACE press release, speaking Tuesday at the end of his official visit to Turkey, van der Linden cited the “historic meeting of religious leaders from both communities, held under his auspices in February 2007, as well as the fact that the Assembly is the only European institution to associate elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community in its work, as concrete example of the Assembly's contribution so far.” Van der Linden said that he chose Turkey for his last official visit as PACE President “to underline the importance of this country for the future of Europe. Turkey will play an increasing role, both in economic and geopolitical terms, and it is in the interest of all to have Turkey as a partner committed to European values,'' he noted. “I praise the strong commitment of the Turkish authorities to continuing democratic reforms,'' Van der Linden declared, pointing that Artcile 301 of the Criminal Code must be brought into conformity with Council of Europe standards. “If Turkey fulfils its democratic commitments, the EU must also keep its promises as regards Turkish membership in the EU,” he said. The parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007confirmed the stability of Turkish democracy and resulted in a more pluralistic and representative Parliament with an increased participation of women and MPs from the South-East of Turkey, he noted. “However, discussions must continue on lowering the ten per cent threshold for the Parliament, which remains the highest in Europe,'' he added. Furthermore he noted that the democratic reforms must be stabilised and strengthened by corresponding constitutional and legislative measures, as called for by the Assembly upon the closing of the monitoring procedure in 2004. ''These measures must, among others, strengthen the guarantees of the freedom of expression and religion, the independence of justice, the fight against corruption and establish an effective Ombudsman's office,'' van der Linden added.