President of the European Committee of the Regions, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, conveyed on Friday the Committee’s support to Cyprus for its efforts for the reform of the local government and the Cyprus problem.
Tzitzikostas was received by President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia. He was accompanied by the head of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities, Larnaca Mayor, Andreas Vyras and the head of Cyprus’ delegation in the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Eleni Loukaidou.
In his statements after the meeting, Tzitzikostas said he assured President Anastasiades that, both in his capacity as President of the CoR, and as Governor of Central Macedonia, he supports “the just demands of our Cypriot brothers,” until a fair and sustainable settlement solution for Cyprus is achieved.
He added that this is also a European issue, because today, 48 years later, “there can be no European area under occupation.”He also said that Europe must, and will be called upon to address this issue very soon, “now that we see, that, letting authoritarian leaders spiral out of control can make things worse and lead to global crises.”
Tzitzikostas also expressed his satisfaction that Cyprus changed the law on self-government, thus, he said, creating stronger Municipalities, increasing and strengthening decentralisation and enabling citizens to have a more active role in decision making.
“What is important today,” he added, “and which I underlined as President of the European Committee of the Regions, is to get the support of the Republic of Cyprus in our effort to upgrade the role of Regions and Municipalities across Europe.”
He said that the CoR stands by Cyprus, not only in the effort to reform and strengthen the Municipalities but also as regards the Cyprus issue.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results.
Source: Cyprus News Agency