The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said on Sunday 7 March that the EU should be involved in the negotiations for the reunification of the island of Cyprus.
An informal meeting is scheduled to take place in Geneva from 27 to 29 April with representatives of the two Cypriot communities and the guarantors - Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom - under the auspices of the United Nations (see EUROPE 12666/35).
“The sooner the EU is fully involved in the new settlement talks, the better”, said Mr Borrell, returned from Cyprus, recalling that the EU had observer status at the official conference on Cyprus.
According to the High Representative, the Cyprus problem is “clearly” a European problem: Cyprus is a Member State of the Union and regional stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean are closely linked to a solution of the Cyprus problem. Moreover, a future settlement needs in particular to comply with the EU acquis and safeguards, the integrity and decision-making responsibilities and processes of the EU, he detailed.
“The EU stands ready to provide whatever assistance both leaders and the United Nations would find most useful”, announced Mr Borrell (see EUROPE 12672/27). He said that “in the coming weeks and beyond”, together with the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission and the European Foreign Affairs Ministers, he would give the EU’s full support to the talks.
According to the High Representative, the attempt to restart negotiations is not starting from scratch. It is possible to build upon a legal framework and on the convergences of past negotiations, according to Mr Borrell. “The UN has been very clear on the parameters for finding a lasting peace: UN Security Council Resolution 2561 of 29 January 2021 recalls the importance of achieving a comprehensive settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality”, he stressed, adding that the EU fully supported the UN line.
And while Mr Borrell acknowledged that this was a complex process, he was encouraged by the willingness of Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Ersin Tatar, to engage with the United Nations to find common ground on the way forward. “I felt a positive determination to return to talks and seek a solution”, he added. Mr Tatar, however, publicly advocated a two-state solution, supported by Turkey.
Since 2006, the EU has provided 600 million euros in aid to the Turkish Cypriot community.
In addition, Covid-19 vaccines purchased through EU mechanisms will be shared equitably with all Cypriots, wherever they reside on the island, with ratios based on population figures. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)