COMMISSION OPINION ON CYPRUS'S REQUEST FOR ACCESSION-COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS
Luxembourg, 4 October 1993

1. At its meeting on 19 and 20 July 1993 the Council heard a presentation by the Commission of its opinion on Cyprus's request for accession to the European Community. It welcomed the positive message which that opinion carried concerning Cyprus's eligibility and its vocation to be part of the European Union.
2. At its present meeting the Council continued examining the Commission's opinion on the basis of the discussions of the Permanent Representatives Committee. The Council's discussions showed that there was a wide consensus among the Member States on the various aspects of the analyses put forward by the Commission and on the approach proposed in its conclusions.
3. The Council supported the Commission's approach, which was to propose, without awaiting a peaceful, balanced and lasting solution to the Cyprus problem, to use all the instruments offered by the Association Agreement to help, in close co-operation with the Cypriot Government, with the economic, social and political transition of Cyprus towards integration into the European Union. To that end the Council invited the Commission to open substantive discussions forthwith with the Government of Cyprus to help it to prepare for the accession negotiations which would then follow under the best possible conditions, and to keep the Council regularly informed of the progress made.
4. The Council also confirmed the Community's support for the efforts made by the United Nations Secretary-General to produce a political settlement of the Cyprus question. If, in spite of these efforts, there was no prospect of a solution in the foreseeable future, the Council agreed to reassess the situation in the light of the positions expressed by each side in the inter-community discussions and to examine in January 1995 the question of the accession of Cyprus to the European Union in the light of this situation.