Vassiliou was elected president as an independent candidate with support from
AKEL in the
1988 presidential election. He worked on and promoted a negotiated solution to the
Cyprus dispute, launching a national and international campaign and especially with negotiations within the
United Nations framework. In a meeting with
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in March 1988, Vassiliou expressed to her his opposition to the two-state solution and the maintenance of the British bases of
Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island. Vassiliou's government streamlined cumbersome civil service, established the
University of Cyprus in 1992, cut taxes to prevent tax evasion, had illegal shacks on the Cypriot coast demolished, modernised public administration by introducing new technologies, introduced environmental protection measures and abolished the state monopoly in media, opening up the creation of private radio stations, such as
Logos. He also expanded a network of press offices at Cypriot diplomatic missions to promote the Cyprus peace process. As president, he formally applied for
Cyprus to join the European Union in 1990, which was finalized in 2003. His efforts to integrate the country into the European Union were encouraged by
Giannos Kranidiotis and Theodoros Pangalo. In 1992, Cyprus became the first country outside the
EEC to peg its national currency to the
European Currency Unit. Vassiliou was again AKEL's candidate in the
1993 presidential election, losing re-election to
Glafcos Clerides by two thousand votes in a second round. He left the office on 28 February 1993 after Clerides' inauguration. ==Post-presidency==