Greek Cypriots approve EU reform treaty

The Lisbon Treaty, designed to streamline the 27-member bloc's institutions after the accession of central and eastern European countries in 2004, was rejected by Irish voters in a referendum last month. But the vote did not sway other members from forging ahead with ratification plans.

In Nicosia, 31 members of the 56 seat parliament approved the pact. Seventeen members of AKEL, the communist party which won the presidential elections in February, opposed it. Â

"This (Treaty) contains rules which protect the few to the detriment of many," Pambis Kyritsis, a senior AKEL member, told parliament.

He said his party was opposed to practices he said gave a "procrustean logic" to fiscal polices, bolstered multinationals and turned the European Central Bank into a superpower which was not accountable to European citizens.

Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias, leader of AKEL, has said that Greek Cypriots will ratify the treaty in spite of his party's misgivings.

One Greek Cypriot-watcher described AKEL's stance as "inconsequential populism" drawn from the need to satisfy its supporters at grassroots level, relying on other parties to bail it out of a sticky fix.

"Its populism without consequences, knowing their opposition is purely symbolic," said political analyst Hubert Faustmann.

Without a treaty, future EU enlargement could be put on hold with a potential detrimental effect on attempts to solve Cyprus's long-running division, an opposition MP said.

"If Turkey is left without a prospect of joining the EU how does AKEL expect Ankara to show goodwill and help solve the Cyprus problem?" right-wing MP Averof Neophytou said.

Photo: AFP