Post by tileiohmaleas on May 27, 2008 9:26:48 GMT -5
By Angelos MArcopoulos in Strasbourg
AS President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat prepared to meet today, some leading European politicians urged Turkey to stop preventing the discussion of the settlers question in orr for the talks to have some chance of success.
They stressed that they hope for results now, contrary to the Turkish trend to leave all the hard nuts to crack later on.
EU President, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, questioned by The Cyprus Weekly as to whether he thought that important issues, including that of the settlers, should be discussed by the UN-sponsored committees in order to prepare for successful peace talks, replied positively.
"Of course. Dialogue on all issues is the only way to a solution. I don't see any other," the EU President agreed.
Now dialogue needed to be intensified on all issues "so that we can see some light at the end of the tunnel," he stressed.
He added that the EU was encouraged by the moves of President Christofias.
"All questions should be dealt in the framework of this dialogue. This makes good sense," replied French Minister for EU Affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, to a similar Weekly question.
Good direction
"Everything that goes towards a dialogue on Cyprus, goes towards a good direction."
The EU Rapporteur on Turkey, Dutch MEP Ria Oomen-Rujten, in answer to The Cyprus Weekly’s question on Turkey's refusal to discuss the settlers, said: "All Cyprus issues should be discussed, now that there is a window of opportunity to come up with solutions."
The Vice-President of the EU Parliament's Socialist Group, Spokesman on Enlargement and Foreign Affairs, Dutch MEP Jan Wiersma, speaking to me, said: "Since there are questions concerning settlers, they should be opened to dialogue."
British MEP Charles Tannock foreign policy spokesman for the EU Parliament’s largest group, the Christian Democrats, said: "Settlers is one of the key issues."
"That has to be part of the negotiations." "Those who don't have strong links to Cyprus might have to return to turkey, perhaps with compensation."
Turkey getsanother slap
AS MEPs voted on a 2008 Resolution on Turkey, 123 MEPs voted against, or abstained, because they wanted harsher criticism on Ankara's controversial EU bid.
A clear majority of MEPs rejected a last-minute attempt to cover-up Turkey's persistent failure to honour its commitments on Cyprus,
Among the 123 MEPs who voted against the Resolution, are some well-known opponents of Turkey's controversial EU-bid, and other MEPs who revealed that they wanted stronger criticism on the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdish issue, human rights and Cyprus.
The President of EU Parliament, German MEP Hans Gert Poettering, who chaired the voting session on the 2008 EU-Turkey Report, observed that a clear majority of MEPs voted down an amendment by a pro-Turkish lobby, led by Socialist Dutch MEP of Turkish origin Emine Bozkurt, which vainly tried to counterbalance the EU's call on Turkey to fulfil its commitments on Cyprus by raising the so-called isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.
"Non-fulfilment of Turkey's commitments will continue to seriously affect the process of negotiations," the resolution warned.
AS President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat prepared to meet today, some leading European politicians urged Turkey to stop preventing the discussion of the settlers question in orr for the talks to have some chance of success.
They stressed that they hope for results now, contrary to the Turkish trend to leave all the hard nuts to crack later on.
EU President, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, questioned by The Cyprus Weekly as to whether he thought that important issues, including that of the settlers, should be discussed by the UN-sponsored committees in order to prepare for successful peace talks, replied positively.
"Of course. Dialogue on all issues is the only way to a solution. I don't see any other," the EU President agreed.
Now dialogue needed to be intensified on all issues "so that we can see some light at the end of the tunnel," he stressed.
He added that the EU was encouraged by the moves of President Christofias.
"All questions should be dealt in the framework of this dialogue. This makes good sense," replied French Minister for EU Affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, to a similar Weekly question.
Good direction
"Everything that goes towards a dialogue on Cyprus, goes towards a good direction."
The EU Rapporteur on Turkey, Dutch MEP Ria Oomen-Rujten, in answer to The Cyprus Weekly’s question on Turkey's refusal to discuss the settlers, said: "All Cyprus issues should be discussed, now that there is a window of opportunity to come up with solutions."
The Vice-President of the EU Parliament's Socialist Group, Spokesman on Enlargement and Foreign Affairs, Dutch MEP Jan Wiersma, speaking to me, said: "Since there are questions concerning settlers, they should be opened to dialogue."
British MEP Charles Tannock foreign policy spokesman for the EU Parliament’s largest group, the Christian Democrats, said: "Settlers is one of the key issues."
"That has to be part of the negotiations." "Those who don't have strong links to Cyprus might have to return to turkey, perhaps with compensation."
Turkey getsanother slap
AS MEPs voted on a 2008 Resolution on Turkey, 123 MEPs voted against, or abstained, because they wanted harsher criticism on Ankara's controversial EU bid.
A clear majority of MEPs rejected a last-minute attempt to cover-up Turkey's persistent failure to honour its commitments on Cyprus,
Among the 123 MEPs who voted against the Resolution, are some well-known opponents of Turkey's controversial EU-bid, and other MEPs who revealed that they wanted stronger criticism on the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdish issue, human rights and Cyprus.
The President of EU Parliament, German MEP Hans Gert Poettering, who chaired the voting session on the 2008 EU-Turkey Report, observed that a clear majority of MEPs voted down an amendment by a pro-Turkish lobby, led by Socialist Dutch MEP of Turkish origin Emine Bozkurt, which vainly tried to counterbalance the EU's call on Turkey to fulfil its commitments on Cyprus by raising the so-called isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.
"Non-fulfilment of Turkey's commitments will continue to seriously affect the process of negotiations," the resolution warned.