Time may be running out for the leaders of both communities to reach common ground on the Annan plan, with both leaders giving the impression talks are moving at a termite’s pace, but behind the scenes, the picture looks quite different.
Technical committees working on the Annan plan have finalised more than 50 of the 118 laws that need to be agreed on which would bind the United Republic of Cyprus.
Experts on both sides and from abroad are working around the clock to fill in blanks and tidy up the Annan plan, getting approval from Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and President Tassos Papadopoulos at each step of the way.
Robert Dann, Assistant to UN Special Envoy Alvaro de Soto, said yesterday that the technical committees were working seven days a week to finalise recommendations on various parts of the plan within the timeframe, which will then be sent to both leaders for approval. Dann said on average eight to ten meetings were going on at any given time on a wide range of subjects.
The committees are divided into three groups, the technical committees on laws and treaties, the technical committee on economic and financial aspects of implementation and a third group of committees dealing with issues such as the flag, the anthem, federal buildings and the needs of the federal public service.
The committees are chaired by the UN, which provides technical and expert support with more than 30 highly qualified professionals staffing the technical committees. Dann said there was a positive climate between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot experts, who worked constructively together.
Chairman of the Committees on Laws and Treaties, Satya Tripathi, said the UN was overseeing the finalisation of 118 laws and three co-operation agreements, as well as the reviewing of 2,000 treaties and instruments for inclusion in the new state of affairs in the case of a settlement agreement.
“More than 50 (out of the 118 laws) have been provisionally finalised,” he told reporters.
Tripathi added that every day close to a hundred experts from both sides, assisted by 20 UN legal experts, meet in up to eight different teams to discuss and finalise draft legal texts. Some of the drafts are up to 1,000 pages long.
UN Political Affairs Officer Lisa Jones said the technical committee on economic and financial aspects of implementation was divided into four subcommittees: Central Bank, public finance and budget, property and relocation, and cooperation, coordination and harmonisation.
“There are currently 17 economic and financial professionals supporting the work of the committees, including experts seconded to the UN by the European Central Bank, the European Commission, the German Federal Bank, the IMF and the World Bank,” said Jones.
Chairman of the flag and anthem committees and co-ordinator of implementation issues, Peter Schmitz, said the UN had received 1,506 flag designs from all over Cyprus and 41 other countries, while 111 compositions and or lyrics were submitted for the anthem.
The committee for the flag, comprising three Greek Cypriot and three Turkish Cypriot design and art experts, unanimously agreed on a design and submitted it to the two leaders for their consideration on Friday. Press reports suggest the flag will be divided into horizontal lines, starting with the colour blue at the top, followed by white, orange, white and red. Schmitz could not confirm the reports — but did say that one of the flag proposals had the image of two kebab skewers crossing each other, symbolising the importance of food on the island. The proposal is believed to have been rejected by the committee.
Dann added that the UN have updated their website on the Annan plan, giving it a new name: www.annanplan.org.
