No view yet on Turkish Cypriot regulations
EU “modernisation” the key word
Hints that Britain will take the opportunity of its six-month Presidency of the EU to try to mend tattered relations with Cyprus came on Friday, at a briefing for journalists by the newly installed British High Commissioner for Cyprus, Peter Millet, who presented his credentials to the President on Friday morning.
The High Commissioner said that the planned visit of Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos on July 26th to meet UK prime minister Tony Blair “will be crucial to … relaunching the bilateral relationship in a positive spirit in the context of the Presidency.”
“Essentially what I want to do is to look to the future in a constructive and collaborative way, recognising that Cyprus is an EU partner … and we want to work together with the Cyprus government to take both the EU and the bilateral agenda forward in a positive spirit”.
Relations between Cyprus and its former colonial power deteriorated sharply after the failed referendums to reunite the island in 2004, largely because of the widely held belief among Greek Cypriots that Britain always backs Turkey or Turkish Cypriots at Greek Cypriots’ expense.
The most recent sign of poor relations came on Thursday June 30, when, as reported earlier on www.financialmirror.com, the House of Representatives voted unanimously in favour of a resolution declaring “the United Kingdom has no sovereignty over the territory of the British Bases, even in the context of the Treaty of Establishment, but a commitment to merely use this territory for specific military purposes.”
Asked about the UK will maintain objectivity when it has disagreed with EU partners including Cyprus on various issues, Millett noted that in previous UK Presidencies the UK has never been accused of pushing the national agenda.
“Our aim will be to be impartial effective and efficient,” he said.
No view as yet on Turkish Cypriot regulations
Millett said that the UK Presidency has no clear views on the Turish Cypriot aid and trade regulations which have been on the table for over a year but over which no EU consensus has emerged.
“We need to listen to the views of all the partners … At the moment we have no clear or firm proposals for that,” he said.
Britain is one of the countries which has opposed “decoupling” the regulations. The Republic of Cyprus government supports the financial aid regulation that would grant EUR 259 mln in aid to Turkish Cypriots, but opposes in its current form the direct trade regulation that would liberalise trade in Turkish Cypriot goods.
EU modernisation
Briefing journalists on the UK’s priorities as holder of the EU Presidency, Millett said that it was a “very difficult moment for the European Union and a time of profound debate on the future of Europe”.
From his comments it was clear that the theme of the Presidency will be modernisation, along with a promise to listen in order to decide on the process for taking things forward.
“A number of very significant concerns have been made public by the referendums and we have to listen to what citizens of Europe are telling us”, he said.
“We need to … see if we can remould the European Union to satisfy the needs of it citizens and to modernise it to meet the challenges of the future.”
On economic reform, Millett noted that the debate had been characterised as a choice between the extreme liberal on the one hand and social justice on the other.
“We believe we can have prosperity and social justice. … That’s what we have done successfully in the UK.”
On the EU budget Millett noted that the UK rebate was not off the agenda but said that it needs to be modernised.
“We need to mould, to adapt the budget to meet the modern and future needs of the European Union rather than simply maintain the structures of the budget that we have had for the last 30 or 40 years.”
Turkey deadline
On Turkey, he said that the Presidency will be working hard to listen to views and get a European Council decision on Turkey’s negotiating mandate before the October 3 deadline.
“Promoting the whole process of Turkey being democratic, prosperous and anchored in Europe is something that is of benefit to Europe as a whole and particularly to this region,” he said.
