EP Contact Group with Turkish Cypriots receives extension

The Contact Group of the European Parliament with the Turkish Cypriot community received an extension of its works from the heads of the Parliament.
French MEP Francoise Grossetete of the European People’s Party, who is heading the Group, presented to the presidents of the European Parliament the report of the Group for its works since January 2006, when it was set up, and its contacts with representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Grossetete said that ”the report was adopted unanimously by our Group, despite the differences on certain issues, and it is the result of group work between the participating MEPs.”
”The report shows that dialogue is the only way for the reconciliation of the two communities. It encourages the two communities to continue rapprochement efforts, which we hope will lead to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem,” she noted.
The French MEP said that during the Group’s meetings with representatives of the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities and with the promotion of meetings mainly with civil society organisations, the Group hopes to play a significant role in improving relations among citizens.
Expressing a personal view, Grossetete said she did not see as positive a proposal included in the report for recognising Turkish as an official EU language as long as the Cyprus problem remained unsolved.