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Category: Cyprus/TRNC

Merkel pushes Turkey on Cyprus customs snub

Speaking to Turkish daily Hurriyet, Chancellor Merkel was asked how long Turkey will have to wait to join the EU.

FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE • Monday, 06 May, 2013

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Turkey to fulfil the requirements of the Customs Union deal and advance on normalising bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus.

In 2005, Turkey signed a protocol extending its customs union to EU states, but at the same time Ankara issued a declaration saying that its signature did not mean it had recognised the Republic of Cyprus. Turkey also refused to open its ports and airports to Cyprus.

Speaking to Turkish daily Hurriyet, Chancellor Merkel was asked how long Turkey will have to wait to join the EU.

“Negotiations with Turkey have being continuing since 2005. They are open ended,” Merkel said.

“One of the conditions for EU membership is that the candidate country abides by the EU’s common law and value system fully. This applies to Turkey too. Turkey should carry out a new reform process. When Turkey’s accession negotiations started, Turkey promised to fulfil all the requirements regarding the implementation of the Customs Union agreement with all EU member countries including Cyprus. If this condition applies, then it would have a positive impact on the membership process,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communications and Cypriot members of the European Parliament are coordinating efforts to promote Cyprus’ interests in the EU.

The main issue on the agenda is the need to lift the Turkish embargo on Cypriot flagged ships and planes.

Minister of Communications Tasos Mitsopoulos told reporters after his meeting with MEPs Eleni Theoharous, Andreas Pitsilides, Takis Hadzigeorgiou and Antigoni Papadopoulou that their discussion was useful, adding “we have asked for the contribution and help of our MEPs to handle sensitive issues such as the restrictive measures which Turkey imposes against Cyprus’ shipping and aircraft”.

They also examined ways to promote Cyprus’ interests in the EU and co-funding of projects from European structural funds and other EU programmes.

Mitsopoulos said the MEPs are willing to support government efforts, adding they pledged to contact their political groups to advance the issues.

Theoharous said the MEPs will continue their meetings with Mitsopoulos, adding “we will seek to solve all problems, mainly the repercussions of the Turkish occupation on air and sea transport in our country.”

She said the Turkish embargo creates an onerous economic issue on Cyprus and should be resolved the soonest.

Hadzigeorgiou said that MEPs should always coordinate with the state to tackle issues that are pending before the EU for the benefit of the country.

He described the Turkish embargo “a great issue”, adding “we have reached an era where this issue should be resolved and we are ready to see how to break the deadlock”.

In April 1987 Turkey imposed restrictions on Cypriot flagged vessels and in May 1997 Ankara issued new orders to extend the restrictions to include ships under a foreign flag which had any relation with the Republic of Cyprus.

These restrictions disrupt shipping and air traffic, in addition to causing huge financial and other problems.

Annual losses for Cyprus’ economy because of the restrictions amounted to 138,5 million euro in 2008, accounting for 1,3 % of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

The shipping industry records annual losses amounting to 100 m. euro. It is noted that 16% of the EU registered ships cannot dock at Turkish ports.

— Copyright © Famagusta Gazette 2013

via Merkel pushes Turkey on Cyprus customs snub.

May 7, 2013
Cypriot Foreign Minister: Cyprus Ready For Talks With Turkey

The Cypriot government is ready to hold talks with Turkey in order to find a solution for the partially divided island, its foreign minister told German magazine Der Spiegel on Sunday.

“We are in favor of talks, but we need to create the right climate,” Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said in an interview with the German magazine. “We could also talk about progress in the European Union accession negotiations,” he added.

In return, Cyprus wants the city of Varosha returned, according to the magazine.

“That would be a gesture of trust, so that the negotiations could have a real chance,” the foreign minister said.

Magazine website:

via Cypriot Foreign Minister: Cyprus Ready For Talks With Turkey -Report.

April 29, 2013
EU lawmaker urges pushing for Cyprus’ reunification to profit from Turkey’s economic potential

By Associated Press, Published: April 17

BRUSSELS — A prominent European lawmaker scolded Cyprus’ bailout creditors Wednesday for failing to insist on the ethnically split country’s reunification. Such a move, he argues, would boost growth through stronger business ties with neighboring Turkey.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a lawmaker with the Green party, said a sustainable economic recovery for the eastern Mediterranean island could only be achieved through closer ties with the region’s biggest and most dynamic economy, Turkey.

Cyprus faces years of economic hardship after a protracted banking crisis that has seen it become the fifth European Union country that uses the euro to seek rescue loans from international creditors. The country’s economy is estimated to contract a whopping 13 percent over the next two years. By contrast, the International Monetary Fund predicts Turkey will grow 3.4 percent this year and 3.7 percent next.

Cyprus was split into an internationally recognized Greek-speaking south and a breakaway Turkish-speaking north in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots declared an independent northern state in 1983 that is only recognized by Turkey, which maintains 35,000 troops there.

The last U.N.-brokered attempt to reunify the island, which began in 2008, has stalled. Cyprus came closest to a peace deal in 2004, when a U.N.-drafted agreement was approved by two thirds of Turkish Cypriots. But the agreement was rejected by three quarters of Greek Cypriots, who considered it weighted against them.

Some analysts suggest that Cyprus should swiftly seek a reunification deal with the northern part as that would boost its economy. A political agreement with Turkey could also make it easier for Cyprus deliver to its newly found offshore gas reserves to European markets.

“Turkish investors will only invest in Cyprus when there’s a reunification,” said Cohn-Bendit, who is also co-chairman of the European Greens’ parliamentary caucus. “The business model must come through reunification. A reunification within the European Union.”

He said Turkey, whose long-running talks for possible EU membership have made little progress in years, would have a much greater incentive to work with a reunified Cyprus. The country joined the EU in 2004 and the monetary union four years later, but only the Greek-dominated south of the island enjoys the benefits of membership.

Fast-growing Turkey, with a population of almost 75 million, boasts an annual output of about $800 billion, while Cyprus’ totals about 18 billion euros ($24 billion), according to the IMF.

Cyprus lies only about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Turkey, but almost 1,000 kilometers away from Athens, the capital of its biggest EU trading partner, Greece.

Last month, Cyprus clinched a bailout deal under which it will receive 10 billion euros ($13 billion) in rescue loans. In return, the country is imposing extensive losses on deposits over 100,000 euros at its two biggest banks, the Bank of Cyprus and Laiki. It has also set up capital controls to avoid a bank run, the first time such measures have been introduced since the launch of the euro in 1999.

via EU lawmaker urges pushing for Cyprus’ reunification to profit from Turkey’s economic potential – The Washington Post.

April 18, 2013
Turkey looks to new leadership for Cyprus breakthrough

BY STANISLAVA GAYDAZHIEVA | APRIL 10, 2013 – 5:04PM

Turkey’s Minister for EU Affairs, Egemen Bağış, believes that a breakthrough between Greek and Turkish Cypriots can become a reality under the mandate of the newly elected president, Nicos Anastasiades.

“For the first time, we have an elected president on the south of the island who campaigned for a “yes” vote during the Annan plan”, pointed out Bağış at an event organised by the European Policy Centre on Turkey’s struggle with terrorism.

He welcomed Anastasiades’ election and said that it “might give a new window of opportunity to see a solution, a breakthrough, between the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots.”

Bağış further said that the Cyprus dispute was not a prerequisite for membership of Cyprus to the European Union (EU) and should, therefore, “not become a prerequisite for membership of Turkey.”

The Turkish minister of EU affairs also stated that Turkey would support and approve any solution the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots agreed on, as long as the solution was based on “political equality” in the island. He said that the authorities in Ankara were willing to open Turkey’s airports, sea ports and airspace to Greek Cypriots, if the Council decision from 2004, calling for direct trade with Northern Cyprus, was implemented.

Bağış said that if Cyprus had accepted the Annan plan, the United States of Cyprus would probably be one of the largest economically growing countries and the most prosperous EU nation at the moment. In his view, the lack of progress on finding a solution to the dispute and current economic situation in Greece were the main reasons that no investments were made in the south of the island and only some investments in the northern part.

Turkey’s chief negotiator expressed hope that Anastasiades will “reach out to his Turkish Cypriot neighbours and pave the way for a solution.”

via Turkey looks to new leadership for Cyprus breakthrough | New Europe.

April 11, 2013
A Chance to Reunify Cyprus

A barrier along the Green Line in Nicosia, the last divided capital of Europe.

By MICHAEL MOLLER

It has often been said that Cyprus never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. This maxim was being bandied about especially after the negative Greek Cypriot vote on reunification in 2004. Life was good in their south of the island then and there was no apparent cost to sticking with the status quo.

A new reality has now imposed itself on the Greek Cypriots. The situation is dire and the immediate future does not look encouraging unless imaginative solutions are found. I firmly believe those solutions are now within reach.

Here’s why. Economic and social conditions in the Turkish-controlled north are improving, creating a more level playing field between the two sides. Turkey is now an increasingly important player both regionally and internationally, and a major anchor of stability in a turbulent region.

The ties between Turkey and Greece are now closer and friendlier, changing the framework within which the Cyprus problem has traditionally been viewed.

Greece’s economic woes have changed its priorities. Its orientation is firmly anchored in Europe, and it is a steadfast supporter of Turkish accession to the European Union. At the same time, the high price Cyprus is now paying for its past symbiotic financial relationship with Greece may affect their future relationship.

These new realities — good and bad — offer an opportunity to move forward on the long-sought solution for Cyprus.

Five years ago, the Cyprus center of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) published some startling assertions on the monetary benefits that would come within the first year of reunification. PRIO’s conservative estimate was that every Cypriot family would get an extra €2,500 per year.

While the context has changed, the conclusion that reunification would bring increased prosperity would probably be similar today.

The new Greek Cypriot president, with his solid pro-unification credentials, is well placed to propose bold measures toward a unified island with a greater common prosperity. And the Turkish Cypriot leadership is now in a stronger position than ever to negotiate a solution on more equal terms.

Turkey’s European aspirations can no longer be denied. But part of that road goes through Cyprus, and the sooner that problem is solved, the sooner Turkey can be welcomed as a full member of a stronger and more integrated Europe.

The European Union can no longer afford to consider Cyprus an irritating peripheral problem. Cyprus is part of Europe and as such, especially now, very much a European problem.

It is time for a solid, united and active European policy and commitment to the reunification of the island based on a clear and shared conviction that it is in everyone’s vital interest.

If not, we are looking at another bailout down the road and the risk of triggering further catastrophic consequences for the integrity of the European construct.

However the fate of the European Union plays out, there are undeniable benefits in ensuring strong partnerships within the southern Mediterranean basin. The different economies and security, energy, water and other needs can only be strengthened through closer union.

The United Nations has been a steady presence in the daily lives of Cypriots for almost 50 years. But it too must take heed of the new realities and realign its strategies.

Cyprus has plenty of assets — geographical location, natural resources, a well-educated populations, infrastructure and now, once again in its long and tortured history, the attention of the international community.

It is time to put them to good use.

Michael Moller is a former United Nations special representative for Cyprus.

A version of this op-ed appeared in print on April 3, 2013, in The International Herald Tribune.

via A Chance to Reunify Cyprus – NYTimes.com.

April 4, 2013
Turkey says Cyprus crisis is chance to end division

By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS | Wed Apr 3, 2013 12:08pm EDT

(Reuters) – Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday the financial crisis in Cyprus presented an “important opportunity” to end the division of the island, split between the Greek Cypriot south and Turkish north.

The Mediterranean island concluded a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout deal with the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday in order to stave off bankruptcy.

It has been divided since a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by a Turkish invasion of the north in 1974. Efforts to reunite it have repeatedly failed and Turkey is the only nation to recognize the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

“There is at the moment significant economic crisis on the island. This should be seen as important opportunity … Because if the island was to unite, there would be a greater economic potential,” Gul said during an official visit to Lithuania.

“There are some restrictions, embargoes on the island. Our suggestion is to lift any and all kinds of restriction or embargo simultaneously so that we can create a new climate for moving forward,” he said.

“I hope that this message will be well understood.”

Turkey’s failure to extend a customs agreement with the European Union by opening its ports to goods from Cyprus has hindered its ambitions to join the EU.

Turkey began EU entry talks in 2005, a year after Cyprus was admitted, but its bid has been blocked by the intractable dispute over the island, as well as by long-standing opposition from core EU members Germany and France.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel highlighted the Cyprus dispute as a stumbling block when she visited Turkey in February.

Relations between Greece and Turkey have thawed over the years, making a resolution more imaginable than in the past.

Beset by economic crisis at home, Greece last month pledged to double annual trade with its eastern neighbor to $10 billion by 2015.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul and signed deals on issues ranging from agriculture to disaster relief.

Gul said the potential for cooperation between Turkey and Greece made the possible benefits of Cypriot reunification even greater.

(Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

via Turkey says Cyprus crisis is chance to end division | Reuters.

April 4, 2013