Batt O'Keeffe
Question:111 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his position in relation to Cyprus' application for accession to the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15272/00]
Written Answers. - European Union Accession.
Ireland strongly supports Cyprus's application for EU membership and looks forward to its accession in the near future. Cyprus is already engaged in detailed accession negotiations with the European Union and is one of the leading countries, at this stage, in respect of its state of preparedness for membership. While the Helsinki European Council underlined that a political settlement of the Cyprus problem would facilitates the accession of Cyprus, it stated clearly that a settlement was not a precondition for accession:
The European Council underlines that a political settlement will facilitate the accession of Cyprus to the European Union. If no settlement has been reached by the completion of accession negotiations, the Council's decision on accession will be made without the above being a precondition. In this the Council will take account of all relevant factors.