Turkish Cypriots not allowed in Congress
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe urged the government of the Republic of Cyprus on Thursday to step up talks on the gradual transfer of urban planning responsibilities to municipalities and to conclude an agreement with the Union of Municipalities on the transfer of powers and responsibilities.
In a recommendation adopted following the debate on the report on local democracy in Cyprus, presented by Ian Micaleff (Malta, EPP/CD) and Alan Lloyd (United Kingdom, SOC), the Congress also called on the Cypriot government to remove the requirement of Council of Ministers agreement for annual municipal budgets and opt for capital funding based on local priorities.
The members of the Congress also reiterated their calls for the Cypriot authorities to rescind article 174 (4) of the law on rural communities authorising the government to suspend elections, and to limit the control exercised over communities by district officers.
Finally, the Congress invited the government and local authorities to continue developing cooperation programmes between municipalities and between rural communities.
Turkish Cypriots not allowed in Congress
Meanwhile, the plenary of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Standing Committee approved today in Strasbourg a report by rapporteurs Ian Micallef from Malta and Alan Lloyd from the UK, which said that local representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community cannot be considered as members to the Congress.
The report was adopted this morning by the Congress with only three votes against, two of which were from Turkey.
The two rapporteurs noted in their report that “due to the non recognition of the ‘institutions’ of the so called ‘TRNC’ local representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community cannot be considered as members to the Congress.”
They also said that “there are Turkish settlers acting as local representatives and this raises a major issue of legitimacy, as these settlers are considered illegal as far as international law is concerned.”
“Thus they cannot be considered as Turkish Cypriots local representatives under the provision of the Congress Resolution 170 (2004),” they noted.
