"‘Abandoned by the EU’
By Simon Bahceli
IN April 2004 Turkish Cypriots were flavour of the month in the EU, having just overwhelmingly backed the UN’s Annan plan in a referendum to which the Greek Cypriots said ‘no’.
If the plan had been approved by both communities, a new Cyprus would have emerged after three decades of division. And both communities would have, just days after the referendum, begun enjoying the benefits of EU membership.
When this did not happen, the EU acted quickly to reassure the Turkish Cypriot community it would not be left out in the cold. In the days that followed, the Commission rushed to devise programmes that would help relieve the community of some of the more negative effects of living in an unrecognised, isolated statelet. To do this, the Commission immediately proposed the Green Line Regulation allowing the free passage of EU citizens across the UN-controlled buffer zone between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides. The regulation also allowed for Turkish Cypriot traders to bring their produce into the Greek Cypriot south to sell or export via ports in the south into EU markets. Although at first only a very limited range of products were allowed to cross, the plan was gradually to increase the product range. Then came the proposal of two packages, one on aid, and one on trade, for the Turkish Cypriots. The trade package would allow the Turkish Cypriots to export produce and products directly into the EU from ports in the north without paying customs duties. The aid would come in the form of 259 million Euros which would be spent on helping the north’s economy and infrastructure get closer to EU norms. There was also talk of opening an EU office in the north. "
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