WRITTEN QUESTION E-1055/00

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 April 2000)

Subject: Cyprus

Could the Commission confirm or deny reports that Cypriot citizens will be denied their right to freedom of movement when Cyprus joins the EU unless Turkey joins simultaneously?

In the House of Commons on 15 February 2000 (Hansard Column 781), the Rt Hon Robin Cook MP, Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, made the following announcement in relation to the accession of Cyprus to the EU:

Freedom of movement between the Republic of Cyprus and the occupied northern sector would apply only if Turkey simultaneously joined the EU.

Does this statement reflect the views of the Commission? Could the Commission state whether any citizens of the Republic of Cyprus will be denied their right to freedom of movement when Cyprus joins the EU?

If the answer to this question is yes, could the Commission explain why Cypriot citizens are to be denied (on an indefinite basis) the basic rights afforded by the Treaties? Could the Commission justify the decision to discriminate against Cypriot citizens in this way?

Could the Commission explain why the decisions on the accession of Cyprus are being linked to EU relations with a foreign country which maintains an illegal occupation force in the Republic of Cyprus, contrary to the stated position of the UN, the European Parliament, the European Council and the overwhelming majority of the international community?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 2000)

The European Council meeting in Helsinki in December 1999 concluded that mldr a political settlement will facilitate the accession of Cyprus to the European Union. If no settlement has been reached by the completion of accession negotiations, the Council's decision on accession will be made without the above being a precondition. In this the Council will take account of all the relevant factors.

As the Honourable Member is aware, the result of the de facto division of the island into two strictly separated parts is that the fundamental freedoms laid down by the Treaties and in particular freedom of movement of goods, people, services and capital, right of establishment and the universally recognised political, economic, social and cultural rights cannot today be exercised over the entirety of the island's territory. These freedoms and rights would have to be guaranteed as part of a comprehensive settlement restoring constitutional arrangements covering the whole of the Republic of Cyprus.

Without prejudice to a case by case appraisal of requests for transitional measures, the Commission takes the view that transitional arrangements can be negotiated provided that they are necessary, appropriate and do not put into question the acceptance of the acquis communautaire by the new Member States. In some cases they must be accompanied by a plan with clearly defined stages for the application of the acquis including investments.

The Commission considers that the enlargement negotiations and the attempts currently being made in the United Nations to find a political solution to the Cyprus problem are mutually reinforcing processes between which coherence should be assured. While a political solution to the Cyprus question is not a pre-condition for accession, it is the objective of the Union that a united Cyprus joins the Union. The Commission recalls the invitation of the Cypriot government to the Turkish Cypriots to take part in the accession process.