Réunification de Chypre au point mort, carton jaune pour la Turquie[en][de] 

The election of Demetris Christofias as president of Cyprus in February 2008, thanks to his good personal relationship with Turkish community leader Mehmet Ali Talat, brought with it encouraging prospects for the reunification of the island. Cyprus has been split in two since it was invaded by Turkish troops in 1974 to prevent its annexation by Greece. 

One striking illustration of the new climate of trust was the re-opening of the Ledra crossing in the heart of the capital Nicosia in April last year (EurActiv 04/04/08). 

Christofias is secretary-general of AKEL, a Marxist-Leninist party, and is the EU's first communist head of state. He has good personal relations with the leader of the unrecognised 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' Mehmet Ali Talat, who is also a left-wing leader. 

Reunification talks are discretely ongoing between Christofias and Talat, under the watch of Alexander Downer, the UN's special advisor on Cyprus and a former Australian foreign minister. 

As Christofias told EurActiv in an interview, his message to the international community is to advise Turkey to be constructive and to refrain from meddling in the talks. 

Kyprianou, who was speaking at the European Policy centre think-tank in Brussels, recalled that Turkey had committed under the 2004 Ankara Protocol to opening its ports and airports to Cyprus. 

These obligations were later incorporated into Turkey's negotiating framework for EU accession, the foreign minister stressed, making them an integral part of Ankara's EU bid. 

"The fact is that Turkey has failed to comply with these obligations – all of them," said Kyprianou, who left his position as EU health commissioner last year to return to national politics. 

Such "failed obligations" include the normalisation of relations with Cyprus, good neighbourly relations, the recognition of the Republic of Cyprus, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the contribution to the peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem, Kyprianou said. 

Several chapters of Turkey's EU accession talks are currently blocked - five by France, three by Austria and Germany, and eight by the decision of the Council - due to Turkey's non-compliance with the Ankara Protocol. Recently, Turkish chief negotiator Egemen Bagiş told EurActiv that he hoped those negotiating chapters could be "unblocked" (EurActiv 08/10/09). 

Ankara 'not constructive' in Cyprus talks 

Regarding the reunification negotiations, which take place under UN watch, Kyprianou said that Turkey is not just an observer to these talks, but a "major player", and lamented that Ankara had "not been constructive" in this respect either. 

The minister conceded that Turkey's position had progressed since 2003, when Ankara was saying "there is nothing to discuss" about Cyprus. Since then, he said, Ankara has recognised that "there is a problem" which needs to be resolved, and negotiations are only ongoing "thanks to this acknowledgement". 

"Unfortunately, that is how far it goes," Kyprianou said. He insisted that there had not been any positive steps as regards the outcome of reunification negotiations, with Ankara insisting that they should result in "a new partnership of two states". He said this view runs contrary to UN Security Council resolutions and the positions of the EU and the entire international community, adding that Nicosia is seeking a solution in the form of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. 

No alternative to reunification 

"This is the target of the negotiations: the reunification of the country into one federal system, not a confederation of two states," Kyprianou insisted, calling on the Turkish government to now clearly support this position. 

Kyprianou also said he was worried because Turkey was speaking of a 'Plan B' if reunification negotiations failed. "We have no Plan B," he stressed, saying that Nicosia sees no other solution but the reunification of the country. 

As for Turkey's own EU negotiation process, he insisted that Istanbul had not been treated more strictly than other candidate countries, citing as an example the fact that it had been allowed to begin accession negotiations while occupying the territory of another member state. 

The view that Cyprus is blocking Turkey's EU accession negotiations is "a myth", the foreign minister said, adding that other countries in a similar situation would probably not agree to open negotiations with Turkey in the way Cyprus had done. 

He said Cyprus wanted "a European Turkey" and a clear EU membership perspective for Ankara, which he said is a powerful incentive to resolve the Cyprus problem. 

"Turkey will always be there, and will always be as big, and Cyprus will always be there, just as small. So it is in our interest to have a European Turkey. Not just Turkey in Europe – we want a Turkey that thinks, feels, acts and behaves as a member state of the European Union, not as a guest having a free ride," Cyprus' premier diplomat elaborated. 

December deadline 

"There has to be some gradual adjustment and compliance" by Turkey, Kyprianou insisted, adding that there must be consequences when nothing happens here for a number of years. "We would like to see Turkey at least begin to comply with its obligations by December," he said, adding that the EU would react "accordingly" in that case. 

"December will be a test both for Turkey and the EU. On the one hand, this is for Turkey the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to the EU accession process, and for the EU, to show whether we uphold our principles and we follow the policy of treating all candidate countries equally." 

"If eventually Turkey comes to believe that it belongs more to the East than the West, this will have consequences for the EU relations," Kyprianou also said. 

Asked by EurActiv if his country was fearful that EU funds would be diverted to the poorer northern part of a united Cyprus, the minister said that for now, Cyprus is the only country from the fifth accession wave which is a net contributor to the EU budget: that is, which does not receive EU funds. 

"On the contrary, with a solution, Cyprus will be able to take advantage and to benefit from regional development funds. A solution will benefit Cyprus as a whole," Kyprianou explained.