President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides has sent a message to the candidate countries for EU accession, including Turkey, in statements to journalists, on his arrival at the EU-Western Balkans Summit, in Tivat, Montenegro.
“The message is clear to the candidate countries. When they meet their obligations, the EU is here to respond. And this is also the message we are sending to Turkey, which continues to be a candidate country, that if it fulfills its own obligations, the EU and the Republic of Cyprus are here to respond” the President stressed.
He expressed satisfaction with the fact that “after many years, the Cyprus EU Presidency gave a significant boost to the accession process of the candidate countries” and referred specifically to Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine. The President recalled that “we started the preparation for the assumption of the EU Presidency with my visit here to Montenegro and I am glad that during our Presidency we had this significant progress after many years”.
President Christodoulides pointed out that the substantive progress recorded in the accession process during the Cyprus EU Presidency, especially in the Western Balkan countries, sends a positive message to the peoples of these countries and other countries, adding that some third countries have attempted to exploit the stagnation that was recorded in the accession process of those countries to distance the region from the EU.
“The Western Balkans belong to Europe and within this context I am very pleased that the Cyprus EU Presidency, with its actions and the actions of the candidate states, has brought very significant results” he said.
Meanwhile, according to a written statement by Director of the President’s Press Office Viktoras Papadopoulos, speaking before the plenary session of the Summit, the President Christodoulides referred to the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union, stressing that the priority of the European perspective of the region, has already brought tangible results.
He referred, inter alia, to the establishment, last month, of the Ad hoc Working Group for the drafting of the Accession Treaty of Montenegro, as well as the ongoing work on the accession chapters of Albania.
President Christodoulides stressed the need for the Western Balkans to continue fulfilling their obligations, in terms of reforms and alignment with the principles and values of the EU, within the framework of a merit-based accession process.
In addition, he expressed satisfaction with yesterday’s Council decision to start work for including the Western Balkans in the roaming area for EU Member States, saying that this is a tangible example of gradual integration, for the benefit of citizens and businesses in the region.
Concluding, President Christodoulides said that the Western Balkans are an integral part of Europe, noting that Cyprus will be a strong voice for the EU’s proximity to the region.