PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday said he was “astonished” to hear about a Greek plan to avoid a head-on collision between Turkey and the EU over the implementation of the bloc’s customs union protocol.
Greek newspaper Eleftherotypia reported on Sunday that a package of proposals had been prepared by Athens to break the current deadlock and alleviate the concerns of the international community.
Under the protocol, Turkey is obliged to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
The proposals reportedly centred on the idea of a customs unification of the two parts of the island and the setting up of a “European” zone, that would be temporarily controlled by the EU in Famagusta pending a final settlement.
It would also help end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, and persuade Turkey to implement the protocol. The Greek ‘Set of Ideas’ was to be conveyed first to Nicosia and then to the EU.
But like the leadership in Greece, Papadopoulos yesterday denied any knowledge of such a plan.
He said that on the day the report was published, there was a Cypriot government representative in Athens, who was informing him on the discussions that were taking place. A Greek plan was not on the table at these discussions, Papadopoulos said. The representative in Athens was there within the framework of the routine weekly planning in conjunction with Athens. It was the third such meeting, he said.
Referring to the plan for Famagusta as it was reported, Papadopoulos said a plan for the occupied town had been proposed by the Greek Cypriot side some time ago.
“We have proposed in detail and in writing this plan a good while ago, so these aspects that we are discussing are not new,” he said.
Commenting on the issue of the customs union protocol, Papadopoulos said that sending the documents to the Turkish Grand National Assembly for ratification would be “the first positive step for the fulfilment of the obligations that Turkey has towards the EU”
At the weekend, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni said Turkey would face a “big problem” if it did not open its ports and airports for Cyprus. “The EU cannot accept as its member, a country that only selectively accepts EU principles,” Bakoyannis told state-run NET television.
“No country can join this way… Turkey will have a big problem,” she said.
