Call for “top-level” contacts between Cypriots
Signs that European Union patience could be running out over the Cyprus problem were evident today when European Parliament President Josep Borrel called for “top-level” contacts to solve the Cyprus problem “as soon as possible” at a press conference at Ledra Palace on the Green Line on Thursday.
Calling for the Cyprus problem to be solved “as quickly as possible” Borrell said “if the communities wish to solve the problem they must renew top-level contacts as soon as possible.”
Borrell said he had “noticed the real mistrust that exists between both communities” adding that “nothing can be achieved unless such mistrust can be overcome.”
While contacts have been made between some members of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties, there have been no high-level contacts since the failed referendum last year.
“We have to break this vicious circle of mistrust. And the only way to do that is through dialogue as we have learned in Europe over many years,” Borrell added.
In a possible sign that the UN will not move until the Cypriot leaders do, Borrell said that in his contacts with the UN, he did not get the feeling that they had in mind any date for the resumption of an initiative to solve the Cyprus problem.
Borrell was insistent that a solution could only be brokered under the auspices of the UN and not the EU (as some Greek Cypriots wish).
Varosha an “anachronism”
Borrell who visited the UN-monitored Green Line and Varosha during his visit, called the ghost town of Varosha “a shocking and striking example of the tragic lessons to be drawn from the history of this island,” adding that it is an “anachronism which Europe cannot afford.”
“The most difficult walls are not those made of stone but those of biases, prejudices, ideas in the mind,” he said.
Breaking down the walls had to be done “by contacts between people and communities and also by politicians of all sides.”
New Contact Group
Referring to the European Parliament’s decision on September 29 to set up a ‘high-level contact group’ to strengthen relations with Turkish Cypriots, Borrell said “We have to break the isolation of the Turkish community”, while emphasising that the creation of the contact group does not entail upgrading the (unrecognised) Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Borrell also hinted that although they would prefer the direct trade regulation and the financial aid regulations to go together, they would be prepared to adopt only the financial aid regulation, first proposed in July 2004, if there was a risk of losing both.
The Greek Cypriots have opposed the direct trade regulation, which would open up Turkish Cypriot trade in goods with the EU, but are not opposed in principle to the EUR 250 mln of EU aid earmarked for the north.
Fiona Mullen
