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The capital of Cyprus island is Nicosia, its area measures 9,251 square kilometres, including 3,335 belonging to the Turkish-Cypriot area. The population is made up of 793,100 inhabitants, the gross domestic product is 11.3 billion Euros. The inflation is 2.4%, its unemployment rate is 3.4%, the deficit is –5.3%, and its National debt is 72.6%. Born on the 16th August 1960, Cyprus is a Republic. The Republic of Cyprus must be distinguished from the Northern Turkish Republic of Cyprus, born in 1983.This is recognized at an international level just by Turkey, whose soldiers occupy have been occupying the territory since 1974. Cyprus is presently cut into 2 parts, devided between its two souls: the Greek-Cypriot one and the Turkish-Cypriot one. The Republic of Cyprus has a form of presidential government, as the Constitutions provides for a directly elected President of Republic. The President, besides exerting the functions of Head of the State, exerts the executive fuctions through a Council of Ministers appointed and leaded by himself. The legislative power belongs to a mono-cameral organ, the Chamber of Representatives, made up of 80 members elected by a proportional system every 5 years. 56 out of 80 seats belong to the Greek-Cypriots and 24 to the Turkish-Cypriots. However, because of the problems of divisions within the island, the 24 seats belonging to the Turkish-Cypriots are still vacant. The present President is Tassus Papadopulos, elected in February 2003. He belongs to the KO liberal party and he leads a centre-left-oriented government coalition, made up of the Akel party, leftist, the KO, and the Edek party. The last elections for the Chamber of Representatives date back to May 2001. Cyprus, a new adhesion-country, joined the European Union on 1st May 2004. In the view of the enlargement, the General Secretary of UNO, had prepared a plan for the unification og the Island. Yet the Greek-Cypriot, by the referendum held on 21st April 2004, rejected the “Hannan Plan” and the re-unifaication of the island. The affluence to the polls was very high (about 90%). Cyprus was the only new member-country which didn’t carry out an adhesion referendum in the view of ebtering the Union. 6 seats out of 732 are for Cyprus within the European Parliament, after the enlargement. The Cypriot deputies are elected by a proportional system according to an only district. The European elections took place on 13th June 2004, with a high affluence yo the polls, more than 72%. The “Yes” party, that joined the Popular party, and the “KEL” party, that joined the European Leftist party, get 2 seats for each. Whereas the “KO” party, that joined the “ European Liberal and Democratic party”, and the “For Europe” party, that joined the Popular party as well, gained 1 seat for each. The Cypriot commissary within Barroso’s commission is Markos Kyprianou, commissary for Health and the consumers’ care.
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