European MPs sign a joint declaration, demanding the EU ease unfair sanctions imposed on Turkish Cypriots and adopt direct trade regulations as soon as possible
02.04.2007: Turkish Daily News
FULYA ÖZERKAN ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
European lawmakers of Turkish descent over the weekend called on the European Union and the German presidency of the bloc to keep an April 2004 promise to lift "unfair sanctions imposed on the Turkish Cypriots.”
At the end of a northern Cyprus summit in Kyrenia, 20 European parliamentarians signed a joint declaration, demanding that the EU adopt the direct trade regulations as soon as possible, open Ercan airport in northern Cyprus to international flights, open the way for Turkish Cypriot participation in the European Parliament, accept Turkish as one of the official languages of the bloc and encourage Turkish Cypriots to take part in international sports and culture events.
"The declaration clearly indicates that EU-member Greek Cyprus abuses their membership in the bloc and calls on the German presidency to make good on a 2004 pledge to ease the sanctions in the north,” Ozan Ceyhun, former member of the European Parliament and architect of the weekend summit in northern Cyprus, told the Turkish Daily News.
In a bid to reward the Turkish Cypriots who voted for a U.N.-backed peace plan for re-unification of the divided island in an April 2004 referendum, the EU promised to lift the embargoes in the north by means of a financial assistance package and direct trade regulations. But lifting trade restrictions has been an arduous process within the bloc because of Greek Cypriot objections.
In January under the German presidency EU foreign ministers agreed to pursue opening trade ties with the Turkish Cypriots following up on three-year-old promises. Germany's predecessor Finland was unable to reach a consensus on the trade package despite all its efforts at the helm of the now 27-nation bloc.
The weekend summit in northern Cyprus could create a synergy in order to raise awareness in European capitals to clearly explain the realities of Cyprus, said Ceyhun, who hailed the meeting very successful and informative. He said European parliamentarians of Turkish origin had the chance to exchange views and learn about the Turkish Cypriot thesis to inform their political parties and public on the facts. "We have created a coordination network and agreed to hold such summits on a regular basis annually. The European parliamentarians will explain what they learn in their own countries,” he added. Germany's leading Turkish politician Hakký Keskin and member of the Berlin State Parliament Özcan Mutlu were among the participants of the summit
