BRITAIN is funding a small number of projects titled Re-uniting Europe as part of an effort to bring the Turkish Cypriots closer to the EU, Britain’s Minister for Europe Denis McShane has said. The project comes under the Global Opportunities Fund.
In written answers to questions posed by Labour MP Andrew Dismore in the House of Commons on what steps were being taken by the UK and the EU to help with preparations for the application of the EU acquis to northern Cyprus, McShane said his government’s main objective was to bring the Turkish Cypriots closer to Europe.
He said the effort was in line with EU commitments and would help in preparing for the application of the acquis in the north of Cyprus, as well as towards a future settlement on the island.
“The government’s ultimate objective remains a just, viable and lasting settlement for the benefit of all Cypriots. We also support efforts in the EU to obtain agreement on the Commission’s package of proposals for financial aid to, and direct trade with, the north of Cyprus.”
MacShane said that since May last year, the European Commission has provided limited assistance to Turkish Cypriots through its Technical Assistance Exchange Office programme, “which we welcome”.
He said the UK funded a number of projects in the north, which deliver technical expertise on administrative reform and the handling of EU-related business. “It is in the interests of the smooth functioning of a united Cyprus that this reform process should begin as soon as possible,” he said.
“These projects therefore form an important part of the government’s policy of promoting a Cyprus settlement.”
In a second House of Commons question, Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean about the status of direct flights to the north.
“The complex issues referred to, result from the need to reconcile the rights and responsibilities of states under the international law of civil aviation with the unique situation in Cyprus,” Baroness Symons said.
“The Republic of Cyprus opposes direct flights to the northern part of the island. Our policy in this area is to help pave the way for reunification of the island, including by reducing the economic disparities between the two communities”, adding that Britain is “unable to predict the timing of an outcome.”
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, in a 90-page report on Cyprus issued on Tuesday, called for direct flights to the north among other things.
In interviews in the UK, the chairman of the Committee, Donald Anderson, said the report was designed to help move the Cyprus process forward. He said Britain was in a unique position to achieve this objective and expressed the conviction that a window of opportunity to resume the Cyprus talks could open up after the ‘presidential’ elections in the north in April. Britain will also assume the EU presidency in June.
President Tassos Papadopoulos said on Tuesday he was “displeased” with the recent deterioration in relations between Cyprus and Britain, which Greek Cypriots feel has become increasingly pro-Turkish.
