EU is a party to Cyprus issue

Cengiz AKTAR EU is a party to Cyprus issue

EU is a party to Cyprus issue

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

 

CENGİZ AKTAR

The US, UN, EU: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat met with the U.S. Secretary of State on Oct. 28 in Washington. The sole fact that Talat was officially invited to the United States is a noteworthy development in and of itself. However it is still unclear to what extent this visit will contribute to a permanent solution to the Cyprus problem? How persistent the United States will be in bringing this issue back to the United Nations and in overcoming the impasse at the U.N. Security Council remains an open question. Additionally, we do not yet know whether the United States is willing to take steps to end the economic isolation of the Northern part of the island, which in turn would lead to a permanent solution.

When it comes to the improvident European Union, the latter is incapable of devising any substantial or independent foreign policy without the United States. When the EU looks at world affairs, it sees not the big picture but only its own image. Exceptions to this attitude are UK and, to some extent, France. The EU's foreign policy makers get nervous when the United States intervenes on certain issues. The most recent example was on Oct. 3. Still, it is not  very glorious to systematically expect the United States to take initiatives either for Turkey, the TRNC or the EU.

As for the United Nations, the organization has neither a carrot nor a stick to implement its decisions. The U.N. is an international secretariat, and a fruitful outcome cannot be reached unless all five members that have veto power vote in unanimity and voice a common will. All these look highly improbable today regarding the Cyprus question and in turn  a new reality has now emerged: “EU member Cyprus.”

Active Papadopoulos, passive EU: The Greek Cypriot bad-tempered president Papadopulos' sole objective is to resolve the Cyprus issue in his own way. His horizons are limited to that small island. Papadopulos and the Greek Cypriots are not worried about how the Europe of the 21st century will take shape, the possible effects of a permanent and fair solution on the divided island in the eastern Mediterranean and the importance of Turkey's EU membership in bringing stability to the region. The Greek Cypriots vetoed the start of EU efforts on Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia launched within the framework of a “New neighborhood policy,” complaining that the Azerbaijanis had landed at Ercan Airport in northern Cyprus. This negative and uncompromising attitude not only ensures a continuation of deadlock but also seems to challenge Turkey's future negotiation process with the EU.

A new period similar to Greece's irrational anti-Turkish policy, which lasted until 1998, that torpedoed all initiatives regardless of content is about to re-emerge. Yet the Greek Cypriots seem to have taken the lead in representing the opposition to Turkey's EU integration, and other countries against the idea of having Turkey in the union are quite content with this situation.

Today, the EU has no significant role in the Cyprus issue. In technical terms two figures are currently leading the EU's efforts:  The first one is Jaakko Blomberg, who works since April for the EU Commissioner for enlargement. This diplomat is Finland's former ambassador to Cyprus and former undersecretary at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign affairs. He had an active role during the intense exchange of letters around the Helsinki summit in 1999. The other person involved in Cyprus is Leopold Maurer, the Head of Unit in the Enlargement DG acceding countries, covering Cyprus. However, the energy that recently developed has no bearing on Greek Cypriot influence in the EU. Indeed, it is always this member country that weighs in on such issues. For instance, the promised financial support of 259 million euros to northern Cyprus was not activated due a Greek Cypriot veto despite all the good will of the EU Commission. (Speaking of that, if these funds are not committed by year end, they will be canceled).

No matter what happens, as long as the Republic of Cyprus (Greek Cypriot administration) is an EU member while Turkey is a candidate, the EU will remain a party to the Cyprus issue. Actually, the EU has already become a party, though in a passive way, since it has entrusted the entire peace process to the Republic of Cyprus. The question is how the EU's passive role can be transformed into a constructive and proactive one. Therefore, the important question  is how  EU perceives its future relations with Turkey with whom it will negociate, given the fact that it imported a difficult  problem  by accepting  a divided island, on May 1, 2004.

A second question concerns what kind of EU contribution can be secured for a permanent solution and what kind of EU policies could be instrumental in preserving the Turkish existence on the island. Within this framework, a solution for the Cyprus issue may be found in the EU's regional policies and in EU member countries' decentralized approach.

The Cyprus issue remains a source of potential instability that could disrupt Turkey's EU integration process.

NOTE: This article is direct from the author and has not been edited by Turkish Daily News staff.

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