EC/Cyprus relations: financial and technical cooperation, 4th protocol

The rapporteur called for clarification of when the negotiations would begin. It was vital to support measures to increase confidence between the two parties on the island. Commissioner VAN DEN BROEK stated that the accession negotiations would begin before ratification of the results of the Intergovernmental Conference, but that accession would be difficult before such ratification. Moreover, it was essential to secure a political settlement that respected the EU’s essential values.