Direct trade out of the question

Cypriot Government Spokesman Vassilis Palmas said that direct trade between the island’s northern Turkish occupied areas and Europe “is out of the question.”
He noted, however, that the Turkish Cypriots would continue to have contacts abroad to promote trade with the Turkish occupied areas of the Republic. Palmas said this kind of activity by the Turkish Cypriots takes place at intervals.
”Of course, issues concerning direct trade are out of the question. The Green Line Regulation is clear and of course such visits and such contacts will continue in the future,” he stressed.
Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
On 29 April 2004, the Council of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg approved a proposal entitled ”Green Line Regulation”, which determines the legal framework of the crossing of goods, persons and services as of 1 May 2004 in Cyprus to and from the occupied areas.
The EU Green Line Regulation says that the products produced in the occupied areas can be sold and consumed in the free areas of the Republic or exported to the EU countries via the legal ports of Cyprus, as long as there is a correct certificate from the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and a relevant control by an EU expert who works in Cyprus for this task.
The Turkish Cypriot regime, however, continues to press on with its demand for direct trade.