PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday that taking the EU to the European Court of Justice over the issue of direct trade with the north would be a last resort.
Speaking on his departure yesterday for an extraordinary EU summit in Brussels, the president said he had no wish and no intention of taking the EU to the European Court of Justice over the issue.
On Monday, the Government Spokesman and the Foreign Minister had hinted that a recourse to the Luxembourg court might be the only option if the EU went ahead with plans for direct trade with the north, a draft of which was leaked to the press.
Papadopoulos said the Commission’s proposed package of measures for the Turkish Cypriots was “unacceptable” in its current form and that it contravened EU rules and regulations. He said the government was still working with Brussels to find a common denominator that would satisfy all sides in helping to end the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.
“We have nearly exhausted all possible political moves on this matter,” said Papadopoulos. “But we do not intend, nor do we wish to take the EU to Court. This would be the last resort, if political arguments do not prevail.”
The government has been working frantically to thwart the EU’s plans to open direct trade with the north, as part of a package of measures to be voted on by the European Council on July 7. The package covers trade, aid, harmonisation, normalisation and free movement of persons.
To get around the issue of the north being an unrecognised entity, the EU will push the direct trade measure under Article 133 of the Treaty of Rome, which covers customs duties between the bloc and third “countries and territories”.
The government has consulted its own independent experts on the legality of the Commission’s move.
“We shall continue working to find an arrangement which would allow the Turkish Cypriots to sell their products and at the same time respect EU rules and international law and order,” Papadopoulos said.
He said several changes had been made to the first Commission draft but added there were “serious amendments” that needed to be made because the terms of the regulations “contradict EU rules”.
“The Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus cannot be treated as a third country because the whole of the Republic joined the EU in May but implementation of the acquis communautaire has been suspended in these areas,” Papadopoulos said.
He said he would meet Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheugen and other officials before July 7 when the final draft would be ready.
