CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel will be Germany’s first head of government to visit Cyprus when she arrives at Larnaca Airport at noon today. It will be a very brief official visit, lasting no more than six hours, but it would be rather silly to make an issue out of it. Chancellor Merkel has a very busy schedule and has little time to devote to visits that do not include a significant work agenda.
She will have a half-hour meeting with President Christofias at the presidential palace, meet the press for half an hour and then have a working lunch, lasting 80 minutes, with the president. Brief meetings with the UN Special Representative and the leader of DISY would follow, before she returns to Larnaca Airport for her departure. There are obviously no pressing issues that need to be discussed, as bilateral relations are excellent, but EU-related topics and the Cyprus talks are certain to be on the agenda.
There has been much speculation in the media about the visit, as neither the German embassy nor the Cyprus government has been willing to disclose what would be discussed at the presidential palace meeting. One newspaper yesterday reported that the ‘number one issue’ would be EU-NATO relations which have been adversely affected ever since Cyprus joined the Union. Turkey has been vetoing co-operation between the two organisations because of Cyprus’ membership of the Union.
The report added that Germany felt the best solution to this problem would be a Cyprus settlement as soon as possible. Merkel would make this view clear to Christofias today. Another newspaper reported on Sunday that Merkel would be pushing for a Cyprus deal before Cyprus takes on the EU presidency in 2012. This is a legitimate concern, as it would be very difficult for Cyprus to handle Turkey’s accession negotiations if relations between the two countries remain as they are today.
It is doubtful that Merkel would be given any definite answers about the prospects of a settlement by Christofias, but her objective, we suspect, would be to emphasise that Germany considered an agreement as a matter of the utmost urgency, because the unsolved Cyprus problem was adversely affecting the EU’s relations with Turkey and, more importantly, NATO. Last year, after meeting Turkey’s prime minister in Berlin, regarding the Cyprus problem, she said that “it is important for both sides to make compromises.”
This will most likely be the theme of her talks with the president, who is unlikely to heed yesterday’s calls by the political parties, demanding that Merkel take a firm stand against Turkish intransigence and “stood up for the principles and ideals of the EU”.
