What the Treaty says about the Turkish Cypriots

By a Staff Reporter

THE PROTOCOL on Cyprus attached to the Treaty of Accession, which was signed in Athens yesterday, provides for the suspension of the application of the acquis communautaire in the Turkish occupied areas.

The Protocol said that in the event of a political settlement of the Cyprus problem, the European Council, acting unanimously on the basis of a proposal from the Commission, shall decide on the adaptations to the terms concerning the accession of Cyprus to the European Union with regard to the Turkish Cypriot community.

It is also noted that nothing in the Protocol shall preclude measures with a view to promoting the economic development of the Turkish occupied areas and that such measures shall not affect the application of the acquis under the conditions set out in the Accession Treaty in any other part of the island.

The EU is ready to accommodate the terms of a settlement in line with the principles on which the EU has been founded and expresses the Union’s desire that the accession of Cyprus should benefit all Cypriot citizens, the protocol said.

The contracting parties reaffirm in the protocol their commitment to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, consistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and their strong support for the efforts of the UN Secretary-general to that end.

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.