Turkish Cypriots ‘short-changed’ by measures to ease trade barriers

By David Cronin

Date: 01/07/04

A PACKAGE of measures aimed at easing the trade restrictions applying to the Turkish Cypriots is to be approved by the European Commission next week as part of efforts to reward the isolated community for its approval of the UN blueprint on reunifying Cyprus.

However, officials have confirmed that the measures will fall short of demands made by senior political figures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the state recognized only by Ankara.

The most controversial points under discussion by the Commission concern how to facilitate direct trade between northern Cyprus and the EU. The Greek Cypriot administration in the South is adamant that the lifting of the economic embargo on northern Cyprus - imposed due to its occupation by Turkish troops since 1974 - should not confer effective recognition on the TRNC, which it labels a 'pseudo-state'.

"There is fierce resistance from the Greek Cypriots," said a Commission insider.

"Direct trade is something they want to avoid," he added, explaining that instead they wish any exports from northern Cyprus to cross the UN-patrolled 'Green Line' dividing the island first and then be shipped abroad from the south.

Because the loosening of trade restrictions would require the backing of a qualified majority in the Council of Ministers, the Greek Cypriots would not be able to block such measures on their own. But the Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos threatened this week to mount a legal challenge at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as a last resort.

Brussels officials are seeking to fine-tune the proposals so that they can be rubber-stamped by the commissioners at their meeting next Wednesday (7 July). "It is complicated as legally speaking we are dealing with a no-man's land," one official commented. "On the other hand, we have a clear mandate to help the Turkish Cypriot community out of their economic isolation."

He was referring to the agreement by EU governments in late April that the Commission should devise a strategy for a new relationship with the Turkish Cypriots after they voted in favour of the UN plan for Cypriot unity. The plan cannot come into effect, though, as it was rejected by a majority of Greek Cypriot voters in a simultaneous referendum.

The Commission's package will include €259 million in aid for the Turkish Cypriots. A large chunk of this assistance is due to be spent on projects designed to encourage closer contact between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

The Commission is also studying the possibility of sending food safety inspectors to the north to certify that its agricultural produce meets the Union's standards.

This would get round an ECJ ruling from 2000, declaring that food safety certificates from the TRNC could not be accepted because they were issued by an unrecognized state.

Turkish Cypriot politicians also want the international ban on direct flights to the TRNC lifted, to stimulate its tourist industry. Flights are currently routed via Turkey. However, the Commission believes this is for individual member states to decide.