EUROPE: EU chief Juncker regrets failure to broker Cyprus peace

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the non-resolution of the Cyprus issue is "one of his regrets" during his tenure at the helm of the executive branch of the EU.

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Juncker stated in a televised interview with Politico Brussels, that he regrets not concluding a deal between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community.

The EU were involved in the Cyprus conference which crashed at Crans-Montana in July 2017.

In the same interview, Juncker clarified that the deal on the UK’s Brexit deal from the EU will not be reopened.

He had the impression that for months now the main interest in British civil society was to replace British PM Theresa May and not how to find an agreement with the European Union.

"Anyway, the deal exists.”

"We have signed a withdrawal agreement (WA) with May, which is not a treaty between May and Juncker, but an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union, which must be respected by the next British Prime Minister. I am clear, there will be no renegotiations on the content of the WA ".

As for the Trump, Juncker said he had a good personal relationship with the US president and said he "deserves respect” because he is the US president and “we should not accompany his doings with unpleasant comments from the European side."

Regarding the "spitzenkandidaten" process, he stressed that he is in favour of the process and would not want to go back to the era where "leaders elect the President of the Commission in a dark room."