The ongoing division of a member of the EU family is an open wound, said in an exclusive interview with Kathimerini the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola.
Speaking to the newspaper on the occasion of her visit to Cyprus next Friday, Metsola also said that she has stated many times that Cyprus is close to her heart, noting that the reunification of Cyprus concerns the entire EU. "The European Parliament strongly supports the resumption of negotiations to fulfil this objective," she added.
She said she "understands that the work of the various technical committees continues, but the only option for a viable settlement of the Cyprus problem is the continuation of a targeted dialogue on the basis of the agreed framework and UN resolutions." "The EU and the international community have backed President Anastasiades' proposals for an MoU because they could really generate momentum," he noted.
I am saddened, he continued, "that our Turkish Cypriot friends have rejected them in the first place."
At the same time, he pointed out, Turkey must show commitment to maintaining good neighbourly relations and stop promoting unacceptable and extreme proposals such as this one for a two-state solution in Cyprus, contrary to the spirit and letter of the UN framework. The EU and especially the European Parliament, she said, "clearly called on Turkey to immediately reverse its actions in Varosha as they make the prospect of reaching a solution more difficult."
In response to a question what the EU can do to send the message that Turkish Cypriots are EU citizens and should be protected from Turkey's economic and social control, Ms. Metsola recalled that Turkish Cypriots are today, and have been since 2004, EU citizens, can vote in European Parliament elections and even be elected as MEPs.
She referred to the financial support that the EU has been providing to the Turkish Cypriot community for two decades. However, he said that over the years, the TC economy and society have become more vulnerable and limited. She noted that the "orientation of the TC community is European and that the future of the TCs lies in the EU."
On natural gas and the recent discoveries of significant reserves off Cyprus, Metsola told Kathimerini that they are important because they bring the promise of increased production of FA in the EU without reliance on third countries for energy supply. She also said the current crisis has brought EU member states even closer together and the discovery of large deposits of FA in one country is good news for the whole bloc and makes us all stronger and "become a catalyst for peace and cooperation rather than a factor that causes conflict."
Asked to comment on the issue of golden passports, Metsola said as the Commission's infringement procedure remains open, it would be better to complete it first.
However, she said the investment programmes leading to EU naturalisation are problematic and she and the EP as a whole have called for the abolition of these programmes several times.
"The Cypriot government has duly recognised that its investment programme was easily exploitable and had inadequate oversight and rightly decided some time ago to terminate it. I understand, he said, that legal investigations in Cyprus are ongoing."
Source: CNA
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