Turkish Cypriots urged to join entry talks

Date: 09/03/2000

By Simon Taylor

Enlargement Commissioner Günther Verheugen will meet the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Rauf Denktash on his visit to Cyprus next week as part of EU efforts to improve relations with the northern half of the island.

Verheugen will travel to the region on 17 March after a two-day visit to Greek Cyprus amid intense diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the island's divided status.

It will be the first time a Commissioner has met Denktash face-to-face since the former external relations chief Hans van den Broek travelled to the northern sector more than three years ago. The Union's relations with the Turkish Cypriots and Ankara plummeted after EU leaders decided in 1997 to give the island full candidate status for Union membership despite Turkish objections, and denied Turkey the same privilege.

Verheugen is expected to urge the Turkish community's leaders to join their Greek Cypriot counterparts in negotiations on terms for joining the EU. "We are trying to get the northern part associated with the talks because the enlargement process concerns northern Cyprus," said a spokesman. But the Commission has rejected Denktash's calls for separate negotiations with the Turkish community.

Next week's visit comes amid the strongest hopes for decades that the two sides can find a political solution to the conflict over the status of the island, which has been divided since the Turks invaded the northern part of Cyprus in 1974, ostensibly to protect their community against a Greek Cypriot coup.

Two rounds of indirect negotiations between the two sides mediated by the United Nation's special envoy Alvaro de Soto in January failed to produce a breakthrough. But another session is scheduled for 23 May in New York and optimism is growing in diplomatic circles that negotiations on the substantive issues of territory, refugees, security and the island's constitution could begin by the end of this year.

The chances of finding a solution have been boosted by the decision taken by EU leaders at December's Helsinki summit to treat Turkey as a full candidate for Union membership and commit themselves to resolving the outstanding issues concerning Cyprus.

However, neither side in the dispute seems prepared to give ground on the key issues. The Greek Cypriots are sticking to their call for a federation with the Turkish community which, in turn, continues to insist on a confederation with the Greeks which would give it equal political status.

Diplomats confirm that the Turkish Cypriots have been examining Belgium's constitutional arrangements, which aim to prevent one of the country's three communities from being dominated politically, to see if they could be applied to the island.

Apart from the political problems surrounding Cyprus' bid to join the EU, the island is one of the best prepared for Union membership as it has not faced the task of developing a market economy like the applicants from central and eastern Europe.

It leads the field in strictly numerical terms, having provisionally closed negotiations in 11 of the 31 policy areas where candidate countries have to bring their laws into line with EU legislation. It also faces few of the restructuring problems confronting the former Communist states in the farming sector because it has a small but profitable agriculture industry.

The island has, however, suffered a recent setback in talks on regional policy, with the Union rejecting its bid for 'Objective 1' status, which would give it access to the most generous levels of EU aid. It has also been told that in the environmental field, it will have to improve industrial pollution controls and waste management laws.

The main barriers to Cyprus' entry are posed by the large offshore banking sector, which will have to undergo a painful process of adjustment to Union financial services law. There are also problems in the area of taxation, not least because the island has a value added tax rate of 8% which will have to be increased to the EU's minimum of 15%. In addition, competition law on the island needs to be brought into line with Union legislation.

Cyprus has also been told to strengthen its lax rules for fishing vessels and general maritime safety legislation.

Enlargement Commissioner Günther Verheugen will meet the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Rauf Denktash on his forthcoming visit to Cyprus as part of EU efforts to improve relations with the northern half of the island.