Brussels, 23/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The EU Court of Auditors said on Wednesday 23 May that the EU aid programme for the Turkish Cypriot community has been quite effective, despite the fact that by far the largest project - construction of a sea water desalination plant - could not be completed.
The European Commission has “succeeded in developing a programme where the objectives of the instrument were reflected in the interventions funded and largely appropriate implementing arrangements were put in place. The programme has already achieved some positive results but their sustainability is often in doubt, particularly given the uncertainty over future EU funding”, the Court of Auditors says in its special report on EU aid to the Turkish Cypriot community.
The Court acknowledges that the Commission had to manage the difficult political context and the challenges posed by the broad formulation of the regulation's objectives, its late adoption and uncertain timeframe. “Despite this, it has been able to develop a programme which addresses and appropriately prioritises all sectors referred to in the regulation's objectives.” The Court says that, in the face of significant constraints, the Commission also found a way to quickly set up a programme management office in the northern part of Cyprus and use largely suitable implementation methods and risk mitigation measures. According to the Court, monitoring in the framework of joint management with the UN was not sufficient.
The programme has, the Court says, assisted many different beneficiaries within the Turkish Cypriot community, including farmers, students and those using the new crossing points, and some important results have already been achieved. However, it has not been possible to implement the single largest project, the construction of a sea water desalination plant (€27.5 million). “This represents a significant setback for the programme and may also have serious environmental consequences”, the report states. More generally, the sustainability of projects is often in doubt due to the limited administrative capacity, the delayed adoption of relevant “laws and regulations” and the uncertainties over future funding on the part of the Turkish Cypriot community authorities.
In its response, the Commission says that “reunification is the central aim of the assistance programme”. The Commission recognises that a breakthrough in the reunification process would require a review of the assistance to Cyprus. The proposal for the next financial perspective contains a clause to this effect.
The Council regulation for the instrument of financial support was eventually adopted on 27 February 2006 with an initial allocation of €258.8 million. This was, in fact, the amount which had been earmarked for the Turkish Cypriot community for the implementation of EU policies in Cyprus if a political settlement had been reached before accession. Smaller additional amounts totalling €33.5 million were allocated over the period 2009-2011. As of 30 September 2011, some 69 % of the total contracted amount for the instrument had been paid by the Commission.
Cyprus became independent in 1960. However, disagreements over the revision of the constitution soon surfaced and led to a political breakdown in 1963 and an upsurge in inter-communal violence. After the adoption of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 186 in March 1964, the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) was established and is still in place with a current strength of approximately 1,000 troops. The existing de facto division of Cyprus dates back to Turkey's military intervention in the northern part of the island in July 1974. In the aftermath of the Turkish military intervention the UN Security Council expanded the UNFICYP mandate, which now includes supervision of the de facto ceasefire and maintenance of a buffer zone along the “green line” which marks out the northern and southern parts of the island. As a result of the 1974 events, the vast majority of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots live separately on their respective sides of the buffer zone. The self-proclaimed “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” was declared on 15 November 1983 but is recognised only by Turkey. At its meeting in Helsinki in December 1999, the European Council decided that a political settlement would not be a precondition for the accession of Cyprus to the European Union (EU), although it underlined that a settlement would facilitate the accession process. In December 2002, the European Council decided in Copenhagen that Cyprus would be admitted as a new EU member state, while reiterating its preference for the accession of a unified Cyprus. However, in an April 2004 referendum the Annan Settlement Plan was rejected by 76 % of the Greek Cypriots voting, while 65 % of Turkish Cypriots voting approved it. The Republic of Cyprus therefore joined the EU on 1 May 2004 with the island still de facto divided. While the whole island legally is part of the EU, the acquis communautaire is suspended in the northern part, an area over which the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control. This constitutes a unique political, legal and diplomatic context. A new round of UN-sponsored talks was launched in September 2008 and is still ongoing. (LC/transl.rt)