Europe, Headlines

POLITICS-EU: UN Proposal on Cyprus Welcomed

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Apr 1 2004 (IPS) - The European Union has welcomed the last-ditch UN attempt to unite Cyprus before it joins the bloc in May.

Whether Cyprus joins the bloc unified or not will rest on a referendum at the end of April. The referendum was included in a last-minute proposal by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Wednesday (Mar. 31) to unite the divided island.

European Union (EU) officials led by EU enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen said Cyprus had been given "an unbeatable chance to reunify" before it joins the Union, and urged Greek and Turkish Cypriots to accept the UN’s reunification plan.

"I must make clear that remarkable progress was achieved and I think we have now reached a stage where we need strong political leadership," Verheugen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg Thursday (Apr. 1).

Vergheugen urged the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot leaders to overcome their misgivings and "persuade the population of the island that the present plan represents the best solution that can possibly be achieved."

Annan presented a final plan to end the 30-year division of Cyprus in the Swiss Alpine resort of Burgenstock after Greek and Turkish negotiators failed to reach agreement.

The new UN plan foresees the establishment of a federal government with two states – one Greek Cypriot and the other Turkish Cypriot, but both largely running their own affairs.

It would also allow a number of Greek Cypriots to return to the northern part of the island while Turkish military forces would be substantially reduced during a transitional phase.

Separate referendums on the proposals will be held in the two Cypriot communities on April 24.

Cyprus is set to join the bloc on May 1, along with nine other countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia).

A ‘yes’ vote would allow a unified Cyprus to join the EU when it expands to 25 members just one week later. If either side rejects the plan, only the Greek southern side of the island will join the bloc.

Javier Solana, the EU’s high representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), congratulated Annan on the proposals and invited Cypriots to use the opportunity to decide their own future.

"These referenda will offer the occasion to write a new page in the history of an island too long divided," he said in a statement Thursday (Apr. 1). "The future now lies in the hands of the people of Cyprus themselves and of their leaders. All Cypriots should now rise to the challenge."

Speaking in Strasbourg Wednesday, European Commission chief Romano Prodi said that "for the first time there is a real substantive possibility of concluding a long-standing problem on the island and we can reach this result without any infringement of Community law."

Reunification and the entry of a united Cyprus into the EU would ward off serious diplomatic problems for the Union. The proposals may even boost Turkey’s own bid to open EU accession talks next year.

"Turkey played a very constructive and cooperative role in the negotiations," Vergheugen said. "I would like to say that expressly."

The European Commission is due to take a view in October whether Turkey has met the political criteria to begin membership negotiations.

"Let me be clear," Vergheugen said. "The choice is not between this settlement plan and some other magical or mythical solution. In reality, at this stage, the choice is between this settlement and no settlement."

Annan urged both sides to seize the opportunity. "This is a moment of high drama," Annan said while announcing the plan Wednesday.

Cyprus has been split into the Greek Cypriot-controlled south and the Turkish north since Turkey invaded the island in 1974 following a short-lived coup by supporters of union with Greece. The breakaway north is recognised only by Turkey.

Thirty years later, the northern third remains under Turkish occupation, and repeated efforts by the international community to broker a deal between the rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot administrations have so far come to nothing.