Speech by Democratic Rally President Mr. Averof Neofytou on the occasion of the visit of EPP President to Cyprus Mr. Joseph Daul
Thursday, 12th May 2016, Kantara Room, Hilton Cyprus, Nicosia, 9.00 pm
Your Excellency,
Dear President of the European People’s Party,
Dear Ministers and dear Friends,
It is an honor to have here among us Mr. Joseph Daul, the President of the EPP, who is a deeply committed European and a true friend of Cyprus.
The European People’s Party, dear President, is for us, more than a party. The European People’s Party is where we belong. It is our political family. It symbolizes the extension of our values at a European level.
And for this, we greatly appreciate your presence here today during this election campaign.
Dear President,
As soon as this government came to office, we faced a huge challenge: recession, unemployment and a destroyed banking system. We decided that the best way to tackle the challenges was to implement a difficult 3-year economic programme that included harsh terms.
We choose to follow the difficult path of the programme, despite suggestions from the opposition for the contrary. Many predicted our failure. We proved them wrong. After 3 years of hard work and sacrifices, Cyprus exited the programme as of March 31st. We still face challenges, but our economy is growing, investments are rising and unemployment is falling.
The only way to tackle the problems is to further reform our country while at the same time remaining true to our values and the electorate.
We have achieved, dear President, conditions of stability and growth. The dangers though are far from over. The voices of populism are becoming louder and louder. We cannot afford to risk the prospects of this country in the hands of those that brought Cyprus to its knees.
Our greatest challenge though, is ending the four decades of occupation and division of our country.
President Anastasiades is negotiating in good faith with the Turkish Cypriot leadership and we have achieved significant progress in finding common ground.
However, obstacles still remain and we still have a long way to go. Turkish officials have also expressed their support for a solution but they have yet to prove in practice that they really mean what they say.
I want to make clear that an agreement on Cyprus will also be a game changer for EU – Turkey relations.
Regarding the chapters frozen by the Republic of Cyprus due to Turkey’s refusal to implement the Ankara Protocol and its obligations under the negotiating framework, our position cannot change before Turkey fulfilled the above mentioned obligations.
Dear President,
On May 22nd, the Cypriot society will be called upon to make a decisive choice: Whether the country will continue its path to recovery, further reducing unemployment and keep providing a stable outlook for the country. Or whether to return to old practices and attitudes that caused the economic crisis and the deadlocks.
Dear President, it is indeed an honor to welcome you here in Cyprus.
