OREANDA-NEWS. October 01, 2012. While attending the opening of the United Nations General Assembly on September 26 in New York, Latvian President Andris Berzins met with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias.

The two officials exchanged views about issues related to the European Union and the euro zone, agreeing that there should be tighter co-operation among small EU member states to express and defend views related to the priorities of the EU’s multi-year budget. President Christofias expressed support for Latvia’s goal of joining the euro zone and promised that Cyprus would express that view when the time comes to take a decision on that matter.
 
President Berzins, for his part, said that Latvia is maintaining its goal of joining the euro zone whilst, at the same time, worrying about events in the euro zone. The President said that further discussions about the strengthening of the Economic and Monetary Union must involve all member states, adding that the economic and financial situation in the euro zone influences all of the EU, Latvia included. That is because euro zone countries are an important export market for Latvia, and so Latvia’s growth is largely dependent on the financial and economic situation in Europe.
 
President Berzins also insisted that it is very important for Latvia to ensure that the situation in the euro zone and the solutions that are sought out for the relevant problems do not hinder Latvia’s accession to the zone once the country has satisfied all relevant criteria. The formal requirement is satisfaction of the Maastricht Criteria, but Latvia has also called for the need to ensure that the expansion of the euro zone occurs in accordance with EU regulations which say that once a member state fulfils the Maastricht Criteria, it must be admitted to the euro zone. “The rules of the game must be clear,” the President said. “Latvia does not support the creation of new criteria, or any situation in which the criteria are interpreted in different ways.”
 
President Christofias, for his part, informed President Berzins about the Cypriot presidency of the EU, which began on July 1, and the country’s goals in this regard. One priority for Cyprus is to conclude negotiations on the EU multiyear budget for 2014-2020, which will be the most important issue for Latvia, as well. The two presidents agreed that it is in their interests to ensure that cohesion financing is preserved at least at the level of the current period so as to ensure that the goals and priorities of the EU’s 2020 Strategy can be achieved. They also said that it is of essential importance in relation to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy to ensure that direct payments are evened out as quickly as possible, setting a minimum level of payments equal to around 80% of the EU’s average level.
 
At the conclusion of the meeting, President Christofias briefly described the economic and financial situation in Cyprus in relation to the government’s announcement this summer that the country would require a loan to recapitalise the second largest bank in Cyprus.