Highlights from a nine-page executive summary of the 137-page UN document seen by the Cyprus Mail
1. The Treaty of Establishment, the Treaty of Guarantee and the Treaty of alliance remain in force but new treaties will also be signed with Greece, Turkey and Britain on matters related to the new state of affairs in Cyprus.
2. Cyprus shall sign and ratify the Treaty of Accession to the European Union.
3. Cyprus shall maintain special ties of friendship with Greece and Turkey and shall support Turkey’s accession to the EU.
4. Any unilateral change in the state of affairs, in particular union of Cyprus or part of Cyprus with any other country or any form of partition or secession is prohibited.
5. The status and relationship of the State of Cyprus its ‘common state’ government and its ‘component’ state is modelled on the status and relationship of Switzerland, its federal government and its cantons.
6. The new Cyprus will be composed of one common state and two component states with political equality.
7. The common state will be the voice of one Cyprus internationally and fulfil the island’s obligations to the EU.
8. The component states, of equal status, within the limits of the constitution, sovereignly exercise all powers not vested by the constitution in the ‘common state’ government, organising themselves freely under their own constitution.
9. The component states shall co-operate with each other through co-operation agreements and constitutional laws, and they will not infringe upon the powers and functions of each other.
10. There will be a single Cyprus citizenship and special majority ‘common state’ law shall regulate eligibility for Cypriot citizenship.
11. All Cypriots will enjoy internal ‘component state’ citizenship status, which will complement and not replace Cypriot citizenship.
12. Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots residing in specified villages in the other ‘component state’ shall enjoy cultural and educational rights and shall be represented in the ‘component state’ legislature.
13. The ‘common state’ parliament will be composed of two chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
14. Each chamber shall have 48 members. The Senate will be 50-50 and the Chamber in proportion to the population, provided that each ‘component state’ received no less than 25 per cent of the seats.
15. Decisions of parliament will require the approval of both chambers by simple majority.
16. The Presidential Council shall consist of six members elected on a single list by special majority in the Senate and approved by majority in the Chamber of Deputies.
17. The offices of President and Vice President shall rotate every ten months among members of the Council. No more than two consecutive presidents may come from the same ‘component state’.
18. The Treaty of Alliance shall permit Greek and Turkish contingents not exceeding an unspecified four-digit figure and a UN peacekeeping operation shall monitor the agreement along with a monitoring committee from the guarantor powers.
19. The supply of arms to Cyprus shall be prohibited and all Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot forces including reserve units will be dissolved and their arms removed from the island in phases along with the redeployment of Greek and Turkish forces.
20. Cyprus shall not put it territory at the disposal of international military operations other than with the consent of Greece and Turkey.
21. The Supreme Court shall comprise nine judges, three Greek Cypriots, three Turkish Cypriots and three non-Cypriots, which will resolve disputes between the component states.
22. On entry into force of the agreement the leaders of the two sides shall become co-presidents of Cyprus for three years.
23. Areas subject to territorial adjustment which are legally part of the Greek Cypriot component state upon entry into force of this agreement shall be administered during an interim period no longer than three years by the Turkish Cypriot component state. Administration shall be transferred under the supervision of the UN to the Greek Cypriots in agreed phases 90 days after entry into force of this agreement.
24. In areas subject to territorial adjustment, properties shall be reinstated to dispossessed owners but in areas not subject to territorial adjustments the arrangements will be on the basis of compensation.
25. Dispossessed owners who opt for compensation or whose properties are not reinstated shall receive full and effective compensation on the basis of the value at the time of dispossession plus inflation.
The executive summary does not go into details of specific territorial adjustments, but makes reference to a map, which forms part of the proposal.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
