Summary: April 21, 2004: European Parliament - Prospects for the unification of Cyprus (Strasbourg)
Jacques POOS (PES, L)
Motion for a resolution on Cyprus
Vote: 21.04.2004
Vote
In a resolution adopted today (by 422 votes in favour to 30 against with 47 abstentions) on the possible reunification of Cyprus, MEPs acknowledge the right of Cypriots to decide for themselves on the Annan plan without outside pressure, though they say that they would be unreservedly welcome a united Cyprus as a member of the EU. They argue that the final document is a historic compromise which would end one of the longest running conflicts in Europe and could serve as a shining example for
handling equally difficult international issues.
Parliament says it understands that the population of Cyprus has numerous questions regarding many extremely complex elements of the plan, but is convinced that any difficulties which may arise in the implementation of the agreement can be solved with the assistance of the EU institutions.
MEPs share the view of the Commission that it is not a question of making a choice between the Annan plan and another plan, but of choosing between this plan and no alternative for a long period of time. They call on all parties to fulfil their obligations with honesty and openness, and on all the citizens of Cyprus to be fully responsible, consistent and committed to their status as EU citizens, and to seize this historic opportunity to reunify their country in a peaceful way.
Finally, Parliament assures both sides that the EU institutions will rigorously guarantee with other international institutions the implementation of the settlement.
Debate
Introducing the debate on Cyprus, President Pat COX commented on the atmosphere leading up to the referendum, and in particular on the problem that the Annan plan had not always been presented fairly to the people. He noted in particular the manipulation on the Greek Cypriot side of prime time TV slots and the exclusion of foreigners from the debates, including Commissioner Günter VERHEUGEN. He said this was an unwholesome spectacle, unwarranted of a state which otherwise seeks to
meet and indeed meets the Copenhagen criteria. He hoped that his comments would be carried on television in the Republic of Cyprus, as at least a modest injection of an alternative view.
Speaking for the Irish Presidency, Dick ROCHE, T.D. noted that there were only three days before the referendums which offered an unprecedented and historic opportunity to heal the divisions of Cyprus. The accession of a united Cyprus was the strong preference of the European Union. The EU was ready to accept the UN plan, on the basis of its own principles, he said, the EU itself having been founded as a means of peacefully resolving difference between nations after a terrible war. The
EU has helped to bridge deep and bitter divisions, and now there was also this opportunity for Cyprus.
The decision, he emphasised, rests with the people of Cyprus, north and south. Mr. Roche said he was fully aware of the historic nature of the decision, but he recalled the words of Kofi ANNAN, who has described the current plan as "the only available and only foreseeable route" to reunification of the island.
Mr. Roche spoke of the donors conference which met last week under the chairmanship of Commissioner Verheugen. There had been definite commitments to financial support for the implementation of the plan from a number of Member States, including Ireland. He noted also that the UN Security Council had indicated its willingness to approve new UN activity on the ground, continuing the work that has been going on since 1964 in the longest running peace keeping mission in UN history.
Mr. Roche said the people of Cyprus would make the decision and the choice was theirs alone. He said the EU understood the history and the passions of the argument, and would respect the choice made by the people, while hoping it would be one which allowed the peaceful integration of a united Cyprus into the EU.
Günter Verheugen recalled that peaceful co-existence was a fundamental value of the EU, and with Cyprus due to join the EU in ten days time, the leaders of the island should bear this in mind. He also stated that Cyprus was the last remaining divided country in Europe. "A country where barbed wire and minefields are still to be found".
"We have never been so close to an agreement, yet there was now little hope left. President Tassos Papadopoulos, he said, had surprised everybody by pursuing a rejectionist strategy and called his position "extremely regrettable". He recalled that in 1999, the Greek Cypriot leadership had promised not to bring down a proposed agreement and he called on the Greek Cypriot government to live up to its commitments. During the negotiations, the Greek Cypriots, he said, had only asked
for relatively minor changes to the draft agreement.
"I am going to be undiplomatic, I feel cheated by the Greek Cypriot government", Mr. Verheugen stated. Commissioner Verheugen regretted that the Greek Cypriot discourse in the campaign had not used the words "peace, understanding and co-existence" rather it had concentrated on only the "commercial aspects of a possible reunification. "
The Commission, he remarked, had fulfilled its obligations and had assisted in providing a draft agreement that could be transposed into national law as well providing institutions capable of meeting the obligations of international law. "There would never be a solution which satisfies either side 100 %" he stated. He made one final appeal to the people of Cyprus to vote in favour of the draft agreement.
Elmar BROK (D) for the EPP-ED recalled that the Foreign Affairs Committee had drawn up a draft report which supported the Annan plan. He also supported this plan saying that it could be implemented without risk. No individual issue, he said, should prevent the draft agreement from being approved. The compromise put forward was fair and well-founded. He also outlined that the draft resolution assured both sides that the EU institutions would do their best, with other international
institutions, to guarantee the implementation of the settlement and confirmed its intention actively to monitor the implementation of the Annan Plan.
Jacques POOS (L) for the PES group underlined that the Cypriots faced an important choice and urged them to vote in favour of reconciliation and peace. The Secretary-General of the UN had put forward a plan that should be acceptable to both sides. He called on both sides to "leave nationalism behind". A no vote could mean that that the status quo could endure for many years if not forever.
For the ELDR group, Graham WATSON (South West) stated that the Cypriots were at a historic junction where possible reconciliation had meant important concessions from both sides. He thanked Commissioner Verheugen for his work but regretted that he had not received more support from other European leaders. Mr Watson saluted those Cypriot leaders who call for a "yes" vote. A no vote would be both "sad and based on sectarian values" and could put back the chance of reunification by a
generation.
Speaking for the EUL/NGL group, Hans MODROW (D) said he had visited the island last week. There had been a glimmer of hope, but many of the expectations of the Greek Cypriots were unfulfilled. The negotiations had been barely reported in Cyprus. It was difficult to communicate a 9000 page document, and this had clearly failed. There were different interpretations of the plan even within the governing coalition of the Republic of Cyprus. Now there was a need for clear signals from the EU
and the UN, he said, signals on peace and security. We should not, he argued, ignore the fact of war and Turkish occupation. There should be no unilateral advantages for either side. Politics is not about finality and eternal truths - the reunification of Germany had shown that. There was a need for a sober and level headed approach.
Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT (F) for the Greens/EFA group said the situation was not only difficult, it was also sad. For years, he said, we had argued that we could not allow a Turkish nationalist position to prevent the acceptance of Cyprus into the EU, but this, he said, had led us into a trap. With a radical change on the Turkish side, the guaranteed accession of Greek Cyprus had led to the present position. The UN plan reflected neither all of the Greek Cypriot view or the Turkish
Cypriot view. It was an attempt to remove the last barbed wire border from the EU. Things could always be better, but the Greek Cypriot government's arguments were sophistry. The citizens in the north should not be held hostage by the south. If there is a no vote in the south and a yes in the north, he said, we should fight for the opening of political relations with the north and the lifting of the embargo. There were no other possible solutions.
Koenraad DILLEN (IND, B) described as "criminal negligence" the decision in Helsinki to leave open the option of Turkish membership without withdrawal of troops from Cyprus. He understood the objections of the Greek Cypriots to the continuing military occupation, the presence of 100 000 Turkish settlers and the limits of freedom of movement. He concluded by saying that Islamic Turkey should never join the EU.
Chris DAVIES (ELDR, North West) said the good faith of Commissioner Verheugen had been betrayed by the Greek Cypriot government. The entire island would join the EU in May, but the new Turkish Cypriot citizens would be unrecognised and unrepresented, kept in poverty by economic sanctions. They feel threatened both by the Turkish settlers and the economic power of the Greek Cypriot side. If the north votes 'Yes' then they will have done everything we asked of them, and sanctions should be
lifted, transport and trade developed - without delay.
Baroness Sarah LUDFORD (ELDR, London) recalled that in 1999, her position was that accession to the EU would not be possible without reunification. The EU, through diplomacy, had shown the Turkish Cypriots what potential reunification could offer. The EU had let down the Greek Cypriots in recent years she said, but a yes vote from the north and a no from the south would mean that the status quo could no longer endure. She also called on some of the restrictions on the Turkish Cypriots to
be lifted including the obligation of Greek mother tongue for Cypriots wanting to work in the EU institutions.
Charles TANNOCK (EPP-ED, London) welcomed this opportunity for peaceful reunification. However, pointing out that he represented many Cypriots in his London constituency he stated that there were not sufficient guarantees on how the Turkish Cypriots would implement the agreement. He also said that the draft agreement could possibly reward the aggressor contrary to the Geneva Conventions. Mr. Tannock did not want to put outside pressure on the vote and said he would support the outcome
whatever it may be.
Responding to the debate for the Council, Dick Roche emphasised that, coming from Ireland, he understood the problems of historic, generations-long conflict. In such circumstances, there were rare opportunities to resolve the problems, and this was one such opportunity. He quoted the President in Office of the Council, Bertie AHERN, T.D. , as saying the view of the overwhelming majority of the European Council was that the Annan plan was good for both sides of Cyprus and good for the EU.
He concluded with a warning that the EU should not be seen as intruding into a decision that was for the people of Cyprus alone to make, though he hoped the decision would be one which served the interests of all the people of the island.
In his response to the debate, Commissioner Chris PATTEN said if there were to be a yes from the Turkish Cypriots and a no from the Greek Cypriots, then the Commission would seek to find an efficient and rapid solution to Turkish Cyprus's economic isolation. He also recalled that during his first European Council in Helsinki, the EU had taken the necessary but risky position to decouple enlargement to central and eastern European countries and that of Cyprus. Overall, "there is a
feeling of being badly let down in the Commission" and also repeated Mr. Verheugen feelings that the Commission and others had been "cheated".
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