Brussels, 24/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - For obvious political reasons, the government of Cyprus has failed to control the demarcation line separating the Republic of Cyprus from the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). In a report published on 21 September the European Commission said that this subsequently allows a “worrying” number of illegals to cross this “green line”. In an effort to avoid granting this demarcation line the status or appearance of an external border controlled in accordance with international standards (which could be interpreted as accepting the division of the island), the Cypriot authorities are not entirely fulfilling their obligations contained in regulation (EC) 866/2004 on the Green Line, affirms the Commission in is annual report on application of the said regulation. The latter entered into force on 1 May 2004 and defines the modalities for applying Community provisions on the movement of persons (Cypriots, EU citizens and third country nationals) as well as on goods crossing the demarcation line.
In the Commission report conclusions we read that “the still high number of persons crossing the Green Line illegally gives reason for concern. The Commission is of the opinion that the surveillance conducted by the Republic of Cyprus pursuant to Art 3 of the Green Line Regulation needs to be strengthened substantially. The Republic of Cyprus is reluctant to meet its surveillance obligation in full as any measure which possibly could lead to the Green Line taking on the appearance of an external border is politically unacceptable”.
The Commission regrets that despite the intentions of the government, Nicosia has not taken additional measures. The Commission asserts that “no additional equipment for surveillance of the Green Line was purchased or is foreseen and the number of personnel dealing with illegal migratory flows (also the police) beside the crossing points was not increased”. The Commission recommends that “authorities of the Republic of Cyprus take concrete steps without delay in order to comply with their obligation under the Green Line Regulation, also with a view to the future participation of Cyprus in the Schengen area” planned for 2009. “While the Green Line does not constitute an external border, the surveillance obligations of the Republic of Cyprus on the government-controlled side of the Green Line should be met effectively while at the same time minimising any hindrance to contacts between the two communities”.
In the context of the movement of goods, the Commission notes, “despite some positive developments concerning the movement of goods, several reported cases confirm that there are still many obstacles to the further development of Green Line trade”. (hb)