Brussels, 11/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 11 February, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso welcomed the agreement announced by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Nicos Anastasiades and Dervis Eroglu respectively, on a joint declaration which will enable the resumption of negotiations. In a press release, Van Rompuy and Barroso underlined that this declaration “lays a solid foundation for resumption of negotiations for a fair and viable comprehensive settlement” of the Cyprus problem. “This declaration should help them to swiftly address matters of substance and to achieve rapid results in the negotiations”, Van Rompuy and Barroso state, saluting the courage the two leaders have shown in agreeing the text.
Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle also hailed this statement and the new start to the discussions that have been stalled since July 2012. He hoped for swift progress.
Commission to support the negotiations. Reiterating that the European Commission is keen “to play its part” in supporting the negotiations, conducted under UN auspices, and to offer whatever support the parties and the UN find most useful, Barroso stated that his personal representative, Pieter Van Nuffel, will contribute actively to “the search for constructive solutions in compliance with the EU acquis to overcome outstanding problems”. The Commission will also step up its efforts to help the Turkish Cypriot Community prepare for implementation of the acquis.
Supporting the efforts to reach an agreement between the two parties “on a package of confidence-building measures which can help to create momentum towards a settlement to the benefit of Cypriot people”, Barroso and Van Rompuy stated that the EU stands ready “to look creatively” at how to contribute to this objective with a view to a final settlement.
Anastasiades and Eroglu met for an hour and a half in the buffer zone in Nicosia, and their meeting was also attended by the UN special representative to Cyprus, Lisa Buttenheim. According to a statement read by Buttenheim, the leaders will seek to reach a solution as quickly as possible and then organise separate referendums. The settlement will consist of “a bi-communal and bi-zonal federation” - a federation composed of two member states with equal status, and Cyprus will be a unified legal entity on the international level, with a single sovereignty (see EUROPE 11015). The next meeting of the negotiators is scheduled “this week”, Buttenheim stated. (CG/transl.fl)