EU official: The chances of Turkey accepting EU involvement in talks are limited

An EU official has said that the issue with President Nikos Christodoulides’ proposal for the involvement of an EU envoy in talks to solve the Cyprus problem is that the EU itself is not neutral as Cyprus is a member state, and thus it is on Cyprus’ side. As such, he said, there is a limited possibility that Turkey would accept.

The official was talking to the Cyprus News Agency about consultations that are currently underway to include a reference to appointing an EU envoy in the Cyprus peace process in the conclusions of the next European Council summit, to be held on 29 - 30 June.

The EU official said that President Nikos Christodoulides as well as the permanent representation in Brussels have been very active in advocating for the involvement of an EU envoy to assist in restarting negotiations, adding that there are ongoing bilateral contacts starting from Nicosia.

However, he added, the issue that has come up is that the EU itself is not neutral as Cyprus is a member state, and thus the EU is on Cyprus’ side. He added that there is a limited possibility that Turkey would accept.

Meanwhile, Nicosia is not completely happy with the wording of a paragraph to be included in the European Council Summit’s conclusions about appointing an EU envoy. According to a draft being circulated, it says: “The European Union remains fully committed to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions, and will continue to play an active role in supporting the UN negotiation process.”

The draft was discussed by Permanent Representatives earlier this week, and is expected to be discussed again on 23 June, said an EU official briefing the press ahead of the General Affairs Council (GAC), which will be held on 27 June in Luxembourg.

The GAC, which consists of Ministers for European Affairs, is tasked with preparing the agenda and the draft conclusions for the summit. The official added that consultations are likely to continue in Luxembourg on 26 June, or even on the night before the summit if necessary.

But the EU official said that he expects the main discussion on this to happen at the level of leaders, rather than during the meeting of the Ministers for European Affairs.

He reiterated that the Cypriot President has been active in promoting his idea and has talked to “virtually everyone”, and added that there is great support on principle in order to revive the “promising process” which came to a halt in Crans Montana.