Documents 

IP/04/857

Brussels, 7 July 2004

Commission proposes comprehensive measures to

end isolation of Turkish Cypriot community

Responding to the invitation of the Council, the European Commission today

proposed a comprehensive package of aid and trade measures which aim to

put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community and to facilitate

the reunification of Cyprus. These measures will facilitate trade from the

northern part of the island and strengthen its economic integration through

financial assistance of €259 million. They also set specific rules for goods

crossing the green line separating the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot

communities.

Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen said : “As the Turkish Cypriot

community expressed overwhelming support for the UN Plan to reunify Cyprus, it

would have been unfair, to say the least, to leave it out in the cold. The Commission

is therefore happy to propose an aid and trade scheme, which, if adopted by the

Council, will foster the economic development of the northern part of the island. It will

also build new bridges between the two communities and thus keep alive hopes of

the reunification of Cyprus”.

On 24 April, the “Comprehensive Settlement of the Cyprus Problem” as proposed by

the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan did not pass the simultaneous referenda in

Cyprus, despite approval by the Turkish Cypriot electorate, given that it was rejected

by the Greek Cypriot electorate. Following the outcome of the referenda, the Council

stated on 26 April that it was “determined to put an end to the isolation of the Turkish

Cypriot community and to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the

economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community”. The Council therefore

“invited the Commission to bring forward comprehensive proposals to this end, with

particular emphasis on the economic integration of the island and on improving

contact between the two communities and with the EU”.

The Commission today decided the following :

- It proposed a regulation establishing financial support for the economic

development of the Turkish Cypriot community and for improving contacts

between the two communities. The envelope amounts to €259 million for the

period 2004-2006. It will put a particular emphasis on alignment with EU

legislation and policies, reconciliation and confidence building measures, social

and economic development, development of infrastructure and people to people

contacts. This regulation has to be adopted by unanimity by the Council after

consultation of the European Parliament.

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- It also proposed a regulation to facilitate direct trade from the the northern part

of Cyprus. The proposal offers a preferential regime for products originating in

the North, entering the Customs Territory of the EU. It sets rules on : the

documents certifying the origin of goods, to be issued by the Turkish Cypriot

Chamber of Commerce or another duly authorised body; phytosanitary

inspections; food and product safety; taxation; communication obligations;

safeguard measures in the event of ineffective cooperation, irregularities or

fraud. It is proposed that the preferential regime should take the form of a tariff

quota system which would be established to encourage economic development

while avoiding the creation of artificial trade patterns or facilitating fraud. This

regulation has to be adopted by the Council by qualified majority.

- It adopted a regulation defining special rules with regards to the intra-island

trade

- It decided to authorise the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce to issue the

necessary documents accompanying the goods which will cross the green line.

For further information see:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/index_en.html