A delegation by the Ecologists’ and Environmentalists’ Movement, headed by General Secretary of the Movement, Ioanna Panayiotou, has held a series of meetings with European Parliament officials.
The delegation met Co-Presidents of the GREENS/EFA Group at the European Parliament Rebecca Harms and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, as well as President of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Helene Flautre and MEPs from other political groups at the EP.
According to a press release by the Ecologists’ and Environmentalists’ Movement, the delegation aimed to inform European officials about the latest developments regarding the Cyprus problem and the need to impose political and economic sanctions on Turkey, which refuses to fulfill its EU obligations, in order to motivate Ankara to follow a constructive stance at the negotiating table for a solution of the political problem in Cyprus.
Cyprus’ Greens noted with regret that ''the outcome of our meetings at the EP causes concern. It is clear that there has been no serious political preparation for the acceptance of the proposal to impose common European sanctions on Turkey for its non compliance with its obligations towards Cyprus”.
President of Cyprus Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been engaged in direct talks since September 2008 with a view to find a mutually acceptable solution that will reunite the country, divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island’s northern third.
After Cyprus' accession to the EU, Turkey refused to extent its Customs Union to Cyprus, a commitment known as the Ankara Protocol, to open its ports and airports to vessel and aircraft bearing the Cypriot flag and to normalise its relations with the Republic of Cyprus.
In 2006, the EU decided to freeze eight of the 35 EU – Turkey negotiating chapters due to Ankara's refusal to comply with its EU obligations. The rest of the chapters continue to go ahead, but the eight shall not be concluded until Turkey fulfills its obligations.
The EU will assess Turkey's progress at the December EU Council.
