Francoise Grossetete, Coordinator of the European Parliament High-Level Contact Group with the Turkish Cypriot community, was satisfied with the meetings held with Turkish Cypriot political leaders.
She said that “in the coming months we are going to be busy working intensely on the ground in order to show that full implementation of the acquis communautaire is worth working towards,” adding that the best way forward is to ensure the correct spending of the 139 mln euros for the Turkish Cypriots made available for 2006.
“We will bring pressure to bear on the European Commission in order to facilitate this and we will encourage all parties involved to produce proposals for specific concrete projects in order to be able to utilize those funds,” she noted.
She said she will be in Strasbourg next week and will be able to present a report to the Conference of Presidents.
Asked about the demonstrations in the occupied part against the members of the European Parliament, Grossetete said “we have nothing against freedom of expression, on the contrary everybody has the right to express himself.”
She added though that “we were rather saddened by these protests because after all we came here in a spirit of open-mindedness and tolerance. We didn’t really understand the protests. However it has to be said there weren’t very many protestors and they did not upset or disturb in any way the work that we came to do”.
“We are here to help build confidence among the people who live in the northern part of Cyprus.We are the link between the European Parliament and the people of the northern part of Cyprus,” she noted.
She said “the actions and work undertaken by our high level contact group take place within the framework of the rule of law, the resolutions of the United Nations and of course the legal system of the EU and in particular the European Parliament resolutions on the Cyprus question. The work that we do will also take place within the framework of the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.”
The French member of the European Parliament said they met with political leaders in the north, as part of their mandate, adding that “the whole purpose of this was to have a useful and constructive exchange and dialogue and quite clearly this is not in any way representing a political recognition of those authorities.”
Grossetete said a lot of other questions were also raised including the application of the Green Line Regulation and direct trade.
She noted it is important for everybody to understand that this is only the beginning and therefore we need to step up our efforts and try and convince everybody that this is really just the first step and that we really are keen to work together for the benefit of all the citizens of Cyprus.
“We hope to ensure that the citizens of the whole of Cyprus will be able to find that trust and confidence once again in the EU,” she said.
“We’ve had some very interesting and instructive meetings and I think this is a very good start for continuing the work that we have to do,” Grossetete added.
As regards the demonstrations in the occupied areas, Deputy Coordinator Mechthild Rothe said, “I think we should speak to the European Parliament about that.”
“I think there was a misunderstanding that the High-Level Contact Group does not respect the Turkish Cypriot identity. This is wrong. Our mandate is to have contacts with the Turkish Cypriot community. It is written that the Cypriot community of the north is part of the island, but it is clear for us and it was clear for the Conference of Presidents that this means contact with the Turkish Cypriot community. And therefore I think we should explain this in the European Parliament that this wording created some irritation,” Rothe noted.
German EuroMP Cem Ozdemir said that his feeling is that some people maybe wanted to misunderstand the intention of the Group.
He noted the Group represents different groups of the European Parliament with different opinions.
“We are here to find information on the grounds and without any bias to go to the north and to talk to the people, with different political organizations and NGOS and that’s what we did,” he added
He said he returns to Brussels with three things: that it is very important that the EU has a direct link with the Turkish Cypriot community, so that people living in the northern part have a direct possibility to talk to EU representatives, that the Turkish language should be involved in the European Union languages and how representatives of the north can be presented in the European Parliament.
Austrian EuroMP Karin Resetarits said that her impression was that the most important thing for the Turkish Cypriots is that “we will finally recognize their rights as members of the EU” than recognizing a state.
“We have to look forward,’ she noted, adding that forward is for the Turkish Cypriots to enjoy their rights as members of the Union.
Irish member of the European Parliament Sean O’ Neachtain, noting that Ireland has been divided for hundreds of years said that “now we have learned one thing if this is encouragement to you: That no matter how long the division, the will of the people, of the minority or the majority will comport the reunification.”
MEPs welcome signals from Annan-Papadopoulos meeting
The European Parliament contact group also welcomed “the positive signals received from the meeting of UN Secretary General Annan and President Papadopoulos regarding the resumption of inter-communal talks.”
A press statement said “the Group noted the wish expressed by Turkish Cypriot party leaders to urgently resume the contacts within the UN framework which should in time lead to a full resumption of talks to find a negotiated settlement.”
“The Cypriot community in the northern part of the island is part of the European family. The Group intends to continue to listen to their concerns in a spirit of openness, transparency and tolerance,” the statement noted.
It said the aim of the work of the Group is to contribute to an end of the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community and to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus, whereby the meetings in the north of the island do not signify any recognition of the partition of the island.
“In this context the Group finds it highly regrettable the there were several incidents regarding crossings into the northern part of the island which ran counter to the mutual agreements. The Group expects mutual agreements to be honoured in the future,” it added.
“As an initial step, the Group calls to identify as soon as possible the most efficient and practical way to use these funds in order to help the citizens and to restore confidence. The Group believes that such an approach will support the reconciliation process on the island,” the statement said.
The seven members of the contact group held talks with the House of Representatives President Demetris Christofias, with the Speaker of the Turkish Cypriot assembly Fatma Ekenogou, with Ferdi Soyer, Mustafa Akinci and Hasan Tacoy and with a wide range of Turkish Cypriot community NGOs.
The visiting delegation consisted of Francoise Grossetete, Coordinator (France), Mechthild Rothe, Deputy Coordinator (Germany), Karin Resetarits (Austria), Cem Ozdemir (Germany), Francis Wurtz (France), Sean O’Neachtain (Ireland) and Ryszard Czarnecki (Poland).
