Christofias: direct trade issue is in a coma

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday described reports that the EU Enlargement Commissioner’s  wanted to re-table the issue of direct trade between the EU and the north as a “serious foul”.

Speaking after participating in the European Summit in Brussels, Christofias said this was a matter that hadn’t been referred to for over three years – neither in the European Commission or the Parliament. “If not dead, this matter is at least in a coma,” said the President.

“This move saddens us and forces us to start efforts to put an end to it straight away,” he added.

Christofias said he had discussed the matter with the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, who didn’t seem to have been informed on Fule’s intentions.

“Nor was the EU’s rotating presidency aware of this,” he added. “This is a matter that has not been discussed on any level. This is why I’m telling you this is a serious foul.”

According to Cypriot MEP Kyriakos Triantafyllides, Fule has indeed proposed a re-discussion of the matter. However, it is unlikely that this will be accepted.

“Based on the Lisbon Treaty, matters that were pending at the European Parliament can be re-tabled, and the specific Commissioner chose to send a proposal to the parliamentary committee that deals with international trade to re-table the matter of direct trade between the Turkish Cypriot side and the EU when the new Treaty is endorsed,” Triantafyllides told the Cyprus Mail.

He added, “International trade means trade between Europe and third countries, and the Turkish Cypriot side is not a recognised country, therefore such a proposal could never be accepted.”

Commenting on the matter last night, Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said the government was in close cooperation with the Cypriot MEPs and there was no need for panic and unease.

“It is not so simple for those who may wish to bring back the issue of direct trade in one way or another,” said Stefanou.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.