In June 1993, the European C ouncil in Copenhagen, considering the relations between EC and Cyprus expressed its satisfaction w ith the com m ission's in te n tio n to present shortly its opinion on th e application o f C yprus, em phasizing th a t this opinion w ould be exam ined ra p id ly by the co u n cil taking in to consideration Cyprus's p a rticu la r situation .
The com m ission issued its opinion on the application o f Cyprus on 30 June 1993.29 In its opinion, the comm ission, a fte r considering C yprus’s capacity to adopt w ith in a reasonable tim escale the acquis com m unautaire in clu d in g her capacity to participate in the planned econom ic and m onetary union and th e com m on foreign and security policy, concluded th a t Cyprus was ready and capable o f becoming a dynam ic m em ber o f th e C om m unity.
The com m ission concluded th a t the island “ is located in th e very fo u n t o f European cu ltu re and civiliza tio n " and th a t it possessed beyond a ll doubt a E uropean id e n tity and chara cter and a vocation to b e lo n g to th e C o m m u n ity.
I t p o in te d o u t that a p o litic a l settlem ent o f the C yprus problem w o u ld serve o n ly to reinforce the island’s European vocation and enhance its social, p o litic a l, and econom ic position. The com m ission expressed its co n victio n th a t “ the result o f Cyprus’s accession w ould be increased secu- rity and p ro sp e rity and th a t it w ould help b rin g th e tw o com m unities on the island closer together.״ In view o f the above, it concluded th a t “ the C om m unity considers Cyprus as e lig ib le fo r m em bership and th a t as soon as th e prospect o f settlem ent is surer, the C om m unity is ready to start the process w ith C yprus th a t should eventually lead to its accession.” The com m ission repeated the C om m unity's support fo r the U N e ffo rts to re - solve the Cyprus problem and gave the undertaking “ to use a ll th e in s tru - m ents available u n d e r the Association Agreem ent to c o n trib u te , in close cooperation w ith the Cyprus government, to the economic, social and p o lit- ic a l tra n s itio n o f C yprus tow ards in te g ra tio n w ith th e C o m m u n ity .”
F in a lly, the com m ission recommended that, in the event th a t intercom m u- nal talks fa ile d to produce a p o litica l settlem ent, th e situ a tio n “ should be reassessed in view o f the positions adopted by each party in the talks and th a t th e question o f Cyprus's accession to the C o m m u n ity should be re - considered in January 1995.”
Three m onths later, on 4 O ctober 1993, th e co u n cil endorsed th e com m ission's o p in io n and welcom ed its positive message. The co u n cil in - v ite d th e com m ission to open substantive discussions fo rth w ith w ith th e governm ent o f Cyprus in order to help the la tte r in its preparation fo r the accession negotiations w hich w ould follow . The council also co n firm e d the
C o m m u n ity’s support fo r the U N secretary general’s e ffo rts to produce a p o litic a l se ttle m e n t o f the Cyprus problem . If, in spite o f these e ffo rts, th ere was no prospect o f a solution in th e foreseeable fu tu re , th e co u n cil agreed to reassess the situation in the lig h t o f the positions expressed by each side in th e intercom m unal talks and reexamine in January 1995 th e question o f C yprus’s accession to the C om m unity.
The substantive talks between the com m ission and th e governm ent o f C yprus began on 26 Novem ber 1993. The prim ary objective o f those talks, w h ich covered a broad range o f subjects, was to assist C yprus's au- th o ritie s in fa m ilia rizin g themselves w ith the acquis com m unautaire and in harm onizing C yp rio t legislation and policies w ith those o f th e C om m unity.
As a m atter o f fact, Cyprus has already harm onized a good deal o f its e xist- in g legislation w ith tne acquis and the authorities endeavour to make sure th a t new ly enacted legislation is in co n fo rm ity w ith C om m unity law and p o licie s. T h e re w ere several rounds o f substantive talks over fifte e n m onths. The talks were successfully com pleted in February 1995.
The interest o f the C om m unity in prom oting a settlem ent o f th e po- litic a i problem led to the appointm ent by the council o f an observer in the intercom m unal talks. The observer was required to re p o rt “to the council on th e im p lica tio n s o f p o litic a l developm ents in C yprus fo r th e U n io n ’s acquis com m unautaire, in c lu d in g th e progress o f th e U n ite d N a tions secretary general's good offices m ission fo r C yp ru s." T he observer su b m itte d his firs t re p o rt in A p ril and th e second in June 1994. H e s u b m itte d his last and fin a l re p o rt in January 1995, in vie w o f th e reassessment o f Cyprus's application by the council. The observer reported th a t despite th e lack o f tangible results, “ overtures made by P resident C lerides in O ctober [1994] were notably courageous.” 30 H e also noted th a t
"th e parties in vo lve d in the Cyprus problem have taken on board th e significance o f the E U ’s recog nition o f C yprus's s u ita b ility to jo in th e U nion and its decision to embrace Cyprus in the next enlargem ent.”
In June 1994, the European C ouncil at C orfu discussed E U -C yprus relations and concluded th a t an essential stage in Cyprus's preparations fo r accession co u ld be regarded as com pleted. I t also decided th a t th e next phase o f enlargem ent o f the EU w ould involve Cyprus and M alta. This po- sition was reaffirm ed by the European C ouncil at Essen in D ecem ber 1994.
The e ffe c t o f these declarations was to cle a rly disassociate th e issue o f C yprus's accession to the E U from the solution o f the C yprus problem . This view was confirm ed by the then president o f the com m ission, Jacques D elors, in a statem ent made on 8 Decem ber 1994 on the eve o f the Essen sum m it.
O n 5 July 1994, the C ourt o f Justice o f the European C om m unities, fo llo w in g an application o f G reek-C ypriot exporters o f a g ric u ltu ra l p ro d - ucts, ru le d th a t the E C -C yprus Association A greem ent d id n o t authorize EC m em ber states to accept, when im p o rtin g a g ricu ltu ra l goods, m ovem ent and phytosanitary certificates issued by the so-called ‘T R N C ’ w h ich was
“ an e n tity n ot recognized.” 31 In its ru lin g , the co u rt explained th a t th e m ovem ent c e rtific a te system as means o f p ro o f o f o rig in fo r a p ro d u c t rested on the p rin cip le o f “ in stitu tio n a l tru s t” and cooperation between the
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relevant a u th o ritie s in the exporter state and the im p o rte r state. I t then stated th a t th a t system could only w ork i f the adm inistrative procedures w ere “ s tric tly respected.” The court said that this was not possible w ith the n o rth e rn p a rt o f Cyprus:
such cooperation is excluded with the authorities o f an entity such as that established in the northern part o f Cyprus which is recognized neither by the Community nor by the Member States; the only Cypriot State they recognize is the Republic o f Cyprus.
The same was tru e fo r phytosanitary certificates:
it would be impossible for an importing State to address enquiries to the departments or officials o f an entity which is not recognized, fo r in- stance concerning contaminated products or certificates that are incor- re d or have been interfered with.
T he c o u rt concluded: “ C le a rly only the au th o ritie s o f the R epublic o f Cyprus are in a position to take action follow ing com plaints connected w ith the contam ination o f plant products exported from Cyprus.”
The co u rt rejected the argum ent p ut forw ard by the com m ission and B rita in th a t non-acceptance o f certificates from the northern part o f th e is - land am ounted to the exclusion o f a whole category o f C ypriots from the benefits o f th e Association Agreem ent between the EC and Cyprus. I t was argued th a t “ fa ctu a lly," it was p ra ctica lly im possible o r at least “ d iffic u lt”
fo r exporters in th e n o rth e rn p a rt o f Cyprus to obtain ce rtifica te s o th e r than those issued by the T u rkish -C yp rio t com m unity. The argum ent was based on A rtic le 5 o f the Association Agreem ent according to w hich the Agreem ent had to be im plem ented in a non-discrim inatory m anner to the w hole population and a ll C yp rio t companies. However, th a t provision, the co u rt stated, could not
in any event confer on the Community the right to interfere in the in- temal affairs o f Cyprus. The problems resulting from the de fa c to parti- tion o f the island must be resolved exclusively by the Republic o f Cyprus, which alone is internationally recognized.
C learly, th is decision has im portant legal and p o litic a l im plications fo r C yprus's relations w ith the C om m unity and especially h e r fu tu re ac- cession to th e European U nion. In particular, there should no longer be any legal doubts th a t th e C om m unity m ust negotiate o n ly w ith th e R epublic o f Cyprus and th a t any internal problem s o f the island are p ro b - lems o f the R epublic o f Cyprus alone in w hich the C om m unity has no rig h t to in te rfe re , at least in the context o f the Association Agreem ent.
G iven th e lack o f any visible progress towards the so lu tio n o f th e C yprus prob lem , th e co u n cil in early 1995, pursuant to its decision o f 4 O ctober 1993 and taking in to account the observer's report, reassessed the question o f C yprus's accession to the E U . A t its m eetings o f 6 F ebruary
118 Nicholas Emiliou
and 6 M arch 1995, the C ouncil o f M inisters:
1) reaffirm ed Cyprus's su ita b ility fo r accession to the E U and con- firm e d th e U nion's w ill to incorporate Cyprus in th e next stage o f its en- largem ent;
2) decided that accession negotiations w ith C yprus w ill com m ence at th e latest six m onths a fte r th e conclusion o f the In te rg o ve rn m e n ta l C onference o f 1996;
3) confirm ed the EU 's continued support fo r the U N e ffo rts fo r a com prehensive settlem ent o f the Cyprus problem ;
4) com m itted its e lf to adopting concrete proposals fo r a sp e cific strategy in preparation fo r accession in clu d in g a stru ctu re d dialogue be- tw een the E C and Cyprus.
T his resolution was adopted in the fram ew ork o f a *package deal’
w ith in the C ouncil o f M inisters relating to the general fram ew ork fo r de - veloping fu tu re relations o f the E U w ith T urkey and Cyprus. In exchange fo r se ttin g o ut a tim etable fo r opening accession negotiations between the E U and Cyprus, Greece lifte d her long-standing veto on th e E C -T u rke y customs union agreement.
The T urkish governm ent and the T u rk is h -C y p rio t leadership w ere in fu ria te d by the council's resolution o f 6 M arch 1995. O n th e same day, the T u rkish foreign m inister stated that:
Turkey disagrees with the decision taken by the Council on the member- ship negotiations w ith Cyprus. The Council’s decision is an unfortunate step which could lead to tne permanent division o f the island. The open- ing o f accession negotiations before a negotiated settlement is reached w ill lead to the talks being held exclusively w ith the Greek-Cypriot side.
In such an undesirable eventuality, Turkey w ill be le ft w ith no option but to take steps towards achieving a sim ilar integration w ith the Turkish Republic o f Northern Cyprus.32
These remarks provoked strong reaction by th e president o f th e co u n cil, then Foreign M in iste r A. Juppe o f France, who stated th a t no th ird co u n try could in te rfe re in the internal affairs o f the EU and th a t no such in te rfe r- enee w ould be tolerated.
The council resolution o f 6 M arch was hailed by th e C yprus gov- em m ent as the single most im portant developm ent in th e tw enty-one years fo llo w in g the T urkish invasion. The im portance o f th is re so lu tio n fo r the Cyprus governm ent is tw ofold. F irst, it has set in tra in th e process th a t w ill eventually lead to Cyprus's accession to the E U in th e n ot so d is ta n t fu tu re . Secondly, it w ill nave a considerable im pact on the e ffo rts fo r a so - lu tio n to the Cyprus problem . In other words, i f T urkey realized th a t her reaction could not stop the process o f Cyprus's accession to th e E U th e n she w ould be faced w ith a policy dilem m a fo r the firs t tim e since th e in va - sion. I f T urkey chose to continue her policy o f no-solution o f the C yprus problem , she w ould, in essence, condem n the T u rkish -C yp rio ts to rem ain in th e ir present poor economic conditions thus d e p rivin g them o f th e sub- stantia! econom ic benefits w hich w ould result fro m C yprus's accession to
Theofanis Stavrou and John Lampe - 978-3-95479-686-1