European Ombudsman European Ombudsman in Cyprus to raise awareness of rights linked to European citizenship Press release no. 9/2004 - 27/02/2004 The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros , will visit Cyprus from 1 to 3 March 2004, at the invitation of the Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman) of Cyprus, Eliana Nicolaou. During his visit, the Ombudsman will meet with Tassos Papadopoulos, President of the Republic of Cyprus; Dimitris Christofias, Speaker of Parliament; Andreas Christou, Interior Minister; and Solon Nikitas, Attorney-General. Mr Diamandouros will also meet with former Presidents of the Republic Glafcos Clerides and George Vassiliou and with political party leaders. In the run-up to the visit, the Ombudsman said "As Cyprus makes its final preparations to join the Union on 1 May, I am delighted to have the opportunity to inform Cypriot citizens about my work and the broader rights that they will enjoy as part of their newly acquired European citizenship". Programme On Monday 1 March, following his meetings with political leaders in Cyprus, Mr Diamandouros will give a press conference at the Office of the Ombudsman in Nicosia. In the afternoon, he will deliver a public lecture at an event organised by the non-governmental organisation "OPEK". The Interior Minister and the Cypriot Ombudsman will also speak at this event. On Tuesday 2 March, Mr Diamandouros will meet his counterpart, Ms. Nicolaou and her staff, to explore ways of developing the co-operation between their offices. Later in the day, in addition to his meeting with the President of the Republic, Mr Diamandouros will deliver the annual public lecture at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the University of Cyprus. His speech is entitled "Rule of law, democracy, and the ombudsman institution in East Central and Southeastern Europe ". On Wednesday 3 March, Mr Diamandouros will have a meeting with representatives of civil society from both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. Background Cyprus is the sixth accession country on the European Ombudsman's information tour. In 2003, the Ombudsman visited Estonia, Hungary and Malta. So far in 2004, he has visited Slovenia and Slovakia. For further information, please call Mr. Nicholas Catephores, Assistant to the Ombudsman, tel. +33 3 88 17 23 83. 1.