12/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - Ursula Stenzel (EPP, Austria), President of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Cyprus, has stated in a press release that the main responsibility for the failure of Kofi Annan's initiative lies with the Turkish Cypriots (see yesterday's Europe, p.4). She added: what happened should tell the EU how wrong the Turkish strategy to "prevent a regulation in Cyprus while the EU refuses to open accession negotiations" with Ankara was. The EU should not accept this kind of "blackmail", insists the MEP. At the same time, Ms Stenzel remains hopeful that a solution for the island can be found before the Accession Treaty is signed in Athens on 16 April, noting that by then Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be the new Turkish Prime Minister and under similar circumstances, would more readily accept Kofi Annan's plan.