Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides said the European Union has “the most decisive role” in current efforts to resume substantive negotiations on the Cyprus problem after meeting European Council President Antonio Costa.
He linked those efforts to Cyprus’ six-month term holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, which he described as successful and widely praised.
EU role in Cyprus talks
Christodoulides said Cyprus’ term at the helm of the Council of the EU was carried out “with a specific plan, design, vision and deliverables of particular added value towards further European integration”.
He said this demonstrated Cyprus’ commitment to the European project and to “a Europe which is more autonomous, stronger and more competitive”.
Within that context, he said, the EU has the most decisive role to play in United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ effort to restart talks aimed at finding a sustainable and functional solution to the Cyprus problem that is fully compatible with EU principles, values and law.
Holguin visit and calls for new envoy
Christodoulides’ remarks come as United Nations envoy on the Cyprus problem Maria Angela Holguin is due to visit Brussels in the coming days, after already holding contacts in Cyprus, Turkey and Greece.
On Monday, House President Annita Demetriou called on the European People’s Party to support the appointment of a new EU envoy on the Cyprus problem after the previous envoy, Johannes Hahn, resigned in March.
Turkish Cypriot position on EU involvement
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has also expressed openness to a greater EU role in efforts to solve the Cyprus problem, while stressing that the bloc cannot act as a mediator because the Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state.
He said the EU could support the process positively through its own decision-making mechanisms and said it should do so. He cited the direct trade regulation as an example.
Erhurman said EU participation at the negotiating table would be “absolutely impossible”, both for Turkish Cypriots and for Turkey.
Direct trade regulation
The direct trade regulation is a pending EU measure that would allow Turkish Cypriot goods, certified by the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce, to be exported directly into Europe via the Green Line and receive preferential treatment in the European single market as European goods.
