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Tue 11 Nov 2002Cyprus OpportunityMuch is at stake in the negotiations on a settlement in Cyprus, which have been fast-tracked by the latest proposals from the United Nations for a federal-type agreement.The prospect of a settlement would make it much easier for the island to join the European Union in the forthcoming enlargement. It would ease the path towards accepting Turkey as a candidate for EU membership. It would seal the international acceptability of the new Turkish government, led by Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic Justice and Development Party. And it would give a fillip to Greece, the next holder of the EU presidency.