TURKEY’S historic agreement to a customs union with Cyprus last week is just another one of its “tricks”, according to Foreign Minister George Iacovou yesterday.
Iacovou told reporters that the decision to include Cyprus in the customs union agreement with the EU while refusing to open its airspace to Cypriot aeroplanes was a new “Turkish trick”, since Turkey knew exactly what it had to do.
He highlighted that Turkey was obliged to sign a protocol of adaptation so that the customs union would extend to all 10 new EU member states, but chose not to go down that road. Instead, Turkey “arbitrarily followed the path of issuing a presidential order, which extends the union to the 10 new states,” said Iacovou.
Signing a protocol of adaptation would mean accepting the Treaty of Accession and particularly Protocol 10, which recognises that the Republic of Cyprus has sovereignty over the whole island apart from the British Bases, though it does not exercise full control in the north, said Iacovou.
The minister said he believed the European Commission would not accept this procedure, adding that it has already sent a draft Adaptation Protocol to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, but has yet to receive a reply.
Turkey referred to the Cyprus Republic as simply “Cyprus” in the wording of the presidential order, in an effort to avoid further internal criticism that it is backing away from support of the breakaway regime in the north and moving towards full recognition of the Republic, an issue which Cyprus will definitely take up with the Commission, Iacovou confirmed.
Meanwhile,Turkey still refuses to allow Cyprus planes to use Turkish airports or airspace and bans Cyprus-flagged ships from docking at its ports.
Regarding the Commission’s report on Turkey’s EU accession bid due this Wednesday, Iacovou said although the Cyprus problem was not included in the criteria, the government made efforts to include certain issues.
“We have a very solid case regarding issues on the Customs Union with Turkey and the closed ports and Cyprus shipping, ban on using international air corridors over Turkey, and other actions, like the countless use of its veto against the Cyprus Republic in international conventions and organisations, as well as the presence of the Turkish army in Cyprus.
“My opinion is that it would truly harm the whole basis and structure of Europe if this is not mentioned in the report prepared for Turkey,” he added.
