GREEK and Turkish Cypriot mediators yesterday agreed on the titles for six working groups and seven technical committees that will lay the groundwork for a resumption of Cyprus talks, possibly in three months time.
It took just a couple of days for Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou and Turkish Cypriot negotiator Ozdil Nami to agree to the titles.
The previous attempt to decide on working groups and technical committees under the July 8, 2006 agreement between Mehmet Ali Talat and former President Tassos Papadopoulos floundered for 18 months, despite 50 meetings during that time.
It took Iacovou and Nami only two meetings lasting around two hours each to reach agreement. Iacovou said the groups would begin work on April 7.
The six working groups will include governance and power-sharing, EU, security and guarantees, territory, property and economy.
The technical committees will focus on crime, commerce, cultural heritage, crisis management, humanitarian issues, health and environment.
The technical committees are designed to tackle everyday concerns, while the working groups handle substantive issues of the Cyprus question.
An announcement from the UN outlined the exact titles of the groups and committees after the sides worked over the weekend to keep the wording as neutral as possible.
“Subject to need, both advisers agreed to establish further working groups and technical committees, as required, in order to ensure that their respective leaders may be able to negotiate as effectively as possible on the full spectrum of issues to be discussed,” the UN statement said.
Speaking after his meeting with Nami, Iacovou confirmed there might be a need to set up further groups and committees to aid the leaders when it comes to new negotiations.
All that remained, Iacovou said, was to staff the committees. He said at the weekend that he did not want part-timers that would meet only once a week. The Presidential Commissioner said they did not know yet how many people would be on each committee.
“It could be from one to ten members from each side,” he said.
He said the complex problems for discussion would need specialists with past experience.
“Until now, we only have the titles and I can say that our side put in a lot of preparation on what these committees should discuss,” said Iacovou.
Asked how much work they expected to see from the groups by the time the leaders are due to meet in June, Iacovou said it would depend on the topics being discussed at each one.
What was outstanding and not agreed at committee and working group level would be handed over to the leaders to carry on negotiating, Iacovou said.
He said that if any of the committees or groups started earlier or later than the others nothing should be read into that.
“The issues are complicated,” he said. “It is a very difficult undertaking and it should be understood that there will probably be difficulties.”
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail in the north last night, Nami said he was very pleased with what he and Iacovou had achieved so far.
“It’s a very positive start, and it is taking place in a new spirit. I believe our work will continue in this spirit,” he said.
“The meeting took place in a constructive and extremely cordial atmosphere. Mr Iacovou is a highly experienced man, and I have great respect for him.”
The two aides are due to meet again tomorrow. It will be their last joint meeting with UN Special Representative Michael Molller who leaves his post from Saturday.
