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erolz
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Joined: 11 Aug 2005
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Location: Kyrenia / Girne
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Original post by Brother, lost by me and my incompetance and now restored.
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?We gained everything we wanted?
By Elias Hazou
NICOSIA yesterday said it had gained all there was to gain from Turkey?s negotiating mandate with the EU, agreed on Monday after a two-day diplomatic marathon.
One of the last sticking points in the bloc?s negotiations with Ankara concerned Turkey?s ability to block the participation of EU members in international organisations of which she was a member ? a clear reference to Cyprus which has found itself vetoed by Ankara in several bodies.
Paragraph 5 of the negotiating mandate urges Turkey not to block member states? participation in such organisations. But in an apparent bid to assuage Ankara, the British Presidency of the EU later issued an accompanying statement, clarifying that international organizations ? and their members ? reserve all their rights on admission of new members.
Turkey was particularly concerned at the possibility of Cyprus seeking to join NATO.
In Cyprus, that statement triggered a debate on whether the clarification effectively invalidated Paragraph 5 or not. The government yesterday insisted it did not, arguing that the wording of the contentious paragraph was left untouched and was now part of EU policy.
?Cyprus has not lost anything. All that we set out to gain? all the advantages, are intact,? Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides told journalists yesterday.
?Britain?s accompanying statement does not detract from the content or substance of Paragraph 5.
?At any rate,? he went on, ?Cyprus has never applied to join NATO and it is unlikely this shall happen in the near future.?
Chrysostomides also tried to shoot down the theory that Paragraph 5 was not a bone of contention after all, and that the real controversy raged around Austria?s demand that Turkey be awarded the status of ?privileged partner? instead of full membership.
The government was keen to discredit that idea, because it implied that Paragraph 5 was not a stumbling block and that therefore Cyprus had neither gained nor lost anything.
But on Monday Greece?s Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis did not make life easier for the government, when he dismissed all the discussion on Paragraph 5 as ?much ado about nothing,? hinting that this was little more than a procedural issue for the EU.
Chrysostomides yesterday flatly refused to comment on Moliviatis? remark.
But he was also taken to task over whether President Papadopoulos had received a phone call from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who reportedly tried to use US influence to waive Cyprus? reservations and clinch an agreement in Luxembourg.
?What the government has to say about this is that it has no comment,? he offered, in response to an observation that a Department of State spokesman had specifically referred to Rice?s phone conversation with Papadopoulos.
As expected, the administration took heavy flak from opposition parties for its handling of Turkey?s accession process. DISY boss Nicos Anastassiades charged the government of pursuing a misguided policy that did nothing to promote efforts for a settlement of the Cyprus problem.
?We?ve been focusing on the wording of protocols, declarations and the like. How does this help Cyprus? If we don?t start working to bring about reunification, then partition will get that closer with each passing day,? Anastassiades said.
DISY has long argued that whether Turkey recognises Cyprus or not is irrelevant, because the Republic is an internationally recognised state anyway.
?Look at Britain?s clarifying statement on Paragraph 5. Turkey is still allowed to veto our participation in a dozen or so international organizations, including NATO. The whole point of preventing Turkey from doing that was that it would at least recognise Cyprus indirectly. But now, even that will not happen.?
?That?s what happens when you set the bar too low,? Anastassiades added.
And while pro-government AKEL and DIKO said they were satisfied with Turkey?s negotiating mandate, junior coalition partners EDEK chose to slam the EU for backtracking at the last minute and granting more concessions to Ankara.
I think the Republic of Cyprus gained nothing and everything is still exactley the same except that now Turkey has to find a way from not opening its airports and harbours to the Republic of Cyprus |
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erolz
Site Admin
Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 4195
Location: Kyrenia / Girne
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For me the telling part is this one
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| Cyprus has not lost anything. All that we set out to gain? all the advantages, are intact,? Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides told journalists yesterday. |
This to me reinforces and sums up the current Republic of Cyprus adminstration and their 'EU solution strategy' - namely to give nothing up and gain advantages along the way, all the time avoiding a negotiated settlment that would require 'giving things up' in order to gain advantages :(
A settlement would mean some give and take. The hope of a 'EU solution' is to 'give nothing and take' and this appraoch undermines and delays any possible settlement imo. |
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