Turkey’s chief negotiator in EU accession talks urged the European Parliament to approve a legislation that would allow direct trade with Turkish Cyprus.
Turkey’s chief negotiator in country’s European Union accession talks on Wednesday urged the European Parliament to approve a legislation that would allow direct trade between EU member states and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
“The moment EU vessels dock at the Turkish Cypriot ports, our ports in Turkey will open their doors to the vessels of all EU member states,” Egemen Bagis told reporters.
The EU calls on Turkey to open its harbors and airports to all traffic from the Greek Cypriot administration in line with an additional protocol to the country’s customs union agreement.
Turkey says it will not remove limitations on the Greek Cypriot ships unless the EU ends a similar embargo on the TRNC, as the Union pledged after Turkish Cypriots agreed to a 2004 UN-brokered plan to reunify the island.
“The Direct Trade Regulation would also help resolve the Cyprus issue by closing the income gap between the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots,” Bagis also said.
AA, 29 September 2010