By D. Karampelas
Tatiana Chourvouliadou, Cyprus
”The Republic of Cyprus is a small country, resource-poor, depending on imports and exports. She has a strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea, which makes her an attractive partner for cooperation not only to the most promising markets of the world but also to emerging economies of the developing countries. We are in favor of trade agreements. CETA will be beneficial in many ways, but most importantly she will protect the SMEs, which is our priority, as they make up the three quarter of our main exporters and her economic level is far more enhanced than that of the other countries. Cyprus has warm and cordial relations with Canada since 1960, when Cyprus gained its independence and integrity and there is no doubt that we will continue to be pledged to those relations. We regard TTIP as a very ambitious and innovative agreement that will facilitate trade across both sides of the Atlantic. Nevertheless, this agreement has many negative points, and mostly we would like to underline the lack of transparency. In terms of BREXIT, we regret Britain’s vote to leave the European Union but even if that finally happens we want to keep strong ties with the UK and outside Europe. We do not forget our historical, political, economic and cultural common shares. We should not forget that according to the TEU and TFEU treaties it is country’s right to either leave or stay in Europe and we should not act revengefully. On the other hand, we should make the most of it in order to become more effective in the trade market play, to achieve high competitiveness, and to redefine the way we work so that we become more appealing and bring sustainable development. Cyprus will be, like the Netherlands and Ireland hit by the BREXIT but any repercussion could be offset by taking alternative measures. BREXIT could act as a motive to raise our standards of our work in every field, especially in the economy, which guarantees our prosperity.”
