Incoming EU Chair, Cyprus' President Christofias : For a Better Europe, Focus on Human beings+

*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- Incoming EU Chairman for the crucial period of July - December 2012, Cyprus' President Dimitris Christofias, speaking this Tuesday at various meetings with MEPs and other Politicians from EU Countries during all afternoon and evening in EU Parliament in Strasbourg, stressed that for "a Better Europe", the "Focus should be placed on the Human" persons' needs and elementary rights, particularly during the persisting Economic Crisis.

In this regard, the former Head of the island's largest political party (AKEL) of the "New Left" area, as he named it, Christofias, warned against any attempt, by anyone inside the establishement's "System", to oblige "Simple Working People" to "pay" for the Crisis' consequences, denouncing it as "Unjust", and anounced his intention to try to escape from the usual "Routine" and behind closed doors' "Compromises" on principles, promissing to work, instead, in order to help "adopt "some (EU) Measures able to alleviate" the extreme pressure exerted on some Social Groups and/or Countries, and/or ameliorate their condition, even if he might not be able to accomplish the "Radical Changes" in fact required by the real situation in practice, at least to make People's lives "Less Hard", also by boosting "Jobs" and "Solidarity", as well as EU's Cohesion.

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Significantly, in a symbolically related move, Christofias confirmed today that he intends to "pass the torch to a younger" person in Cyprus on 2013, and that he has chosen the current Minister of Health, Malas, who has just been also apointed as responsible even for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation. In his first statements in this regard, Dr. Stavros Malas reportedly supported the view that EU should use Research and Innovation as an important tool able to spearhead progress towards Growth.

This same Day, Christofias met with EU Parliament's biggest Political Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, French MEP Joseph Daul of Strasbourg, precisely at the same moment, or so, that Daul concluded another exceptional meeting with EU Commissioner in charge of Science, Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn from Ireland (the next rotating EU Chair, from January 2013). And Daul had just met, yesterday (Monday) morning in Berlin, exceptionaly, with German Chancellor Angie Merkel, whose leitmotiv, (reiterated several times both in Brussels' EU Summits' Press Conferences, and in Germany,f.ex. n Berlin : Comp. a relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReport from Berlin, on the sidelines of events organized around the Summit for the 20th Anniversary of the Wall's Fall, 9/2009-  included at nearby Stuttgart, etc), is to use Scientific and Technological Innovation as an important tool for Econmic Growth..

All this occured just after EU Summits' President Van Rompuy, speaking earlier this Morning at EU Parliament's Plenary in Strasbourg, stressed, inter alia, also the fact that the "Compact for Growth", endorsed at last week's EU Brussels' Summit, (which joins together previously and recently proposed Measures between 2010 - 2012 for the immediate Future), "contains .. Work to be done together, as a Union, including on... Strengthening  the European Research area", (comp. Statements by European Research Area's Director, Arias, to "EuroFora", in a June 2012 NewsReport from an event at the CoE in Strasbourg).
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On Geo-Political issues, Christofias pointed at Cyprus' potential, "despite the Foreign Military Occupation" of its Northen part by Ankara's Invasion Troops since 1974, to "try to be a Bridge between the EU and the Middle East", as well as in order to use the traditionally good "relations between Cyprus and the (Neighbouring) Arab Countries" in order to safeguard the recent "Arab Spring"'s positive potential, from eventual risks to be pushed, instead, towards "Arab Fall" or even "Winter", as he warned.

Concerning the Cyprus' issue, Christofias regretted the fact that, recently, "the Turkish Government has become even more Cynical, Hard and Intransigeant", hindering in real practice his "aim" to work for "the ReUnification of Cyprus", with feelings of "Brotherhood between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots together", in "one Federal State of bizonal/bicommunal nature, as precsribed by the pertinent UNO SC Resolutions.

In this regard, the President of EU Parliament's EuroLeft Group, German MEP Gabi Zimmer, strongly denounced, earlier at a Press Conference here, "Turkey's pressure" and  "Blackmail" tactics vis a vis the EU in an attempt to "Boycot Cyprus'" rotating EU Council's Chairmanship for the important semester of July ( December 2012), which, as the President of EU Parliament's Socialist Group, experienced Austrian MEP Johannes Swoboda reportedly stressed, "should be Respected by everybody", (according also to crystal-clear warnings towads Ankara by official declarations of EU Heads of State/Governments' recent Brussels' Summits).

Meanwhile, the incoming EU Chairman spend many Hours in Strasbourg, for successive working meetings with EU Parliament and EU Commission's Presidents Schultz and Barroso, as well as with the Heads of almost all Political Groups, before speaking at meetings of the EuroLeft and Socialist Groups, followed by a Diner with MEPs and other politicians.

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("DraftNews", already sent earlier to "EuroFora"s Subscribers/Donors. A more accurate and Full, Final Version may come asap).

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