‘This Turkey has no place in the European family’ – Cypriot MEPs react to report

Cypriot members of the European parliament on Tuesday took to the floor of the Strasbourg chamber to call for the European Union to treat Turkey as a threat and not as a partner, as MEPs debated the parliament’s annual report on Turkey. Disy’s Loukas Fourlas began his intervention with a touch of sarcasm, saying, “I welcome the rapporteurs’ attempt to square the circle, to put the words ‘Turkey’ and ‘progress’ in the same sentence”, adding that “it is a very difficult task, because the two words cannot coexist”. “What progress is there? Turkey continues to illegally occupy European territory in Cyprus. It continues to threaten Greece with war. It continues to cause instability in the eastern Mediterranean on a daily basis. This is all recorded in the report, and yet, the European Union, instead of demanding practical compliance, is looking for ways to save Ankara,” he said. He complained that the report is “talking about an upgraded customs union and enhanced cooperation with Turkey in the areas of security and defence”, and that as such, “the message we are sending is wrong and dangerous”. Related Articles • EU report calls on Turkey to ‘give space’ to Turkish Cypriots to act politically • Govt to report ‘interference’ with ministerial aircraft by Turkish Cypriots • Cypriot MEP demands sanctions on Turkey over ‘Blue Homeland’ bill • Three Turkish F-16s take off from north’s airport • Ustel lambasts Cyprus as ‘the spoilt child of Europe’ • Military buildup in Cyprus ‘should not be permanent’, Erhurman says That message, he said, is “that occupation, threats, and aggression not only have no costs, but come accompanied with European gifts”. “The message we must send is one and it must be unanimous. This Turkey has no place in the European family,” he said. Akel’s Giorgos Georgiou said that the report “contains many truths”, but that “in the end, it chews them up”. “This is the European Union’s familiar tactic,” he said, before praising references to a federal solution to the Cyprus problem, to “the return of Famagusta”, to missing persons, to “the termination of the assimilation of the Turkish Cypriots by Turkey”, and to the resumption of negotiations aimed at solving the Cyprus problem. However, he said, Turkey, under its current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is “sliding towards dictatorship”. On this front, he spoke of “democratic backsliding, a non-existent rule of law, arrests, imprisonments, the removal of mayors, provocations in the eastern Mediterranean”. “Here, the paradoxes begin. This Turkey is considered an important strategic partner. It is already being offered in [the Security Action for Europe defence funding instrument], high-level political dialogues, entry visas, the European Investment Bank has gone to Turkey, an upgrading of the customs union,” he said. To this end, he said that “defence and so-called security, armaments, and economic interests outweigh political morality”, before stressing that he is not diametrically proposed to warmer relations with Turkey should Turkey itself show the progress he would like to see. “Let Turkey take from Europe. It must, however, also deliver – democracy to its citizens, respect for its neighbours and international law, and, above all, a just and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem for the benefit of all Cypriots,” he said. He added that “now is the time for the European Union to support one of the last attempts to resolve the Cyprus problem before the bells of permanent partition toll”. Giorgos Georgiou Elam’s Geadis Geadi said that since April, when the report was evaluated by the parliament’s foreign affairs (Afet) committee, “Turkey has shown its true colours again”. “We have had an attempt to institutionalise the so-called ‘Blue Homeland’, flights of Turkish fighter jets over Nicosia, the harassment of aircraft carrying European defence ministers, violations and arrests in the buffer zone, threats against the territorial integrity of European territories,” he said. With this in mind, he asked, “how long will we continue to delude ourselves?”. “It is a disgrace to Europe … to talk about de-escalation in the eastern Mediterranean and to present Turkey as a strategic partner and ally. Ankara does not perceive détente as an incentive for change, but as a weakness,” he said, before comparing Turkey to Russia. He said that “there are no good and bad occupiers, but occupiers, and Turkey continues to occupy European territory, and this should bother all of you”. “If this is not a red line, what exactly is? What messages are we sending to those who have vested interests in Europe? We are not asking for special treatment for Cyprus, we are demanding equal treatment for Turkey. Europe cannot condemn the occupation in Ukraine and tolerate the occupation in Cyprus,” he said. Geadis Geadi Regarding Cyprus, the report said that Turkey must allow the Turkish Cypriots the space to act within their role as a “legitimate community of the island”, highlighting the fact that Turkish Cypriot political participation is fundamental to the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. In this vein, it also urged the European Commission to “step up its efforts to engage with the Turkish Cypriot community” so as to facilitate a resolution to the Cyprus problem. It also called on all those involved to “demonstrate a more courageous approach” over their efforts in relation to the Cyprus problem, and stressed what it described as “the need for the EU body of law to be implemented across the island” after the Cyprus problem is resolved. It also said it “remains concerned by restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom” in northern Cyprus, where the ruling coalition is attempting to pass through the legislature an anti-disinformation bill which many have criticised as overly vague in its language and thus open to abuse by those wishing to suppress journalism. On the matter of the Cyprus problem at large, the report said it “welcomes the steps taken” by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres towards resuming settlement talks, and called on the European Commission to appoint a replacement for its now former envoy for the Cyprus problem Johannes Hahn, who resigned last month. It added that the election of pro-federation candidate Tufan Erhurman as Turkish Cypriot leader last October “has contributed to renewed hope for creating a conducive environment for the resumption of settlement negotiations”. Tufan Erhurman making his victory speech in Nicosia’s Kizilbas Park after winning October’s election Regarding Turkey’s role on the Cyprus problem, the report said that the country must “respect the status of the buffer zone and the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp)”, while also “ceasing and reversing” what it described as “unilateral actions and violations” in and around the buffer zone. It also said it “calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus and refrain from any unilateral action which would entrench the permanent division from the island”, while also deploring “action altering” the island’s “demographic balance”. Additionally, it said it “strongly condemns Turkey’s attempts to upgrade the status of the secessionist entity in occupied Cyprus”, making reference in this regard to the Turkish Cypriots’ status as observers of the Organisation of Turkic States. Additionally, it said it “condemns the ongoing efforts by Turkey to ‘open’ and settle Varosha by people other than” those who lived in the seaside Famagusta suburb prior to 1974, and that it “deplores any effort to turn Varosha into a dark tourism attraction”. This, it said, “sensationalises tragedy” and “insults the dignity and rights of [its] lawful inhabitants”.