BRUSSELS - European Union (EU) Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen said on Wednesday that recognition of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was out of question.
Verheugen, who held a news conference in Brussels, expressed pleasure over the package of proposals of the EU Commission aiming to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots who voted for the Annan Plan in April.
Verheugen said the solution of the Cyprus problem depended on overcoming of differences between the communities, and asserted that those in the north would remain poor and Turkish Cypriot youth would leave the island if the actual situation will remain.
Stating that EU supporters in Turkish Cyprus deserved to be supported, Verheugen said nobody was intended to recognize TRNC. He said this package did not mean direct or indirect recognition of the TRNC, stating that establishment of a small Turkish state in the Mediterranean would not be in the interest of anybody. He said there was not such kind of a hypothesis or risk.
Verheugen said they have not yet made public the mechanism regarding the implementation of the package, noting that the Commission would be responsible for the implementation. He said he is actually unable to give information about the structure and implementation schedule of the package.
Verheugen also said Greek Cypriot administration did not share the approach of the Commission toward the package, yet recalled that nobody has the right to veto it.
It was reported that Greek Cypriot and Greek representatives raised reservations against the package during the negotiations in the EU Commission.
(AY-ULG) 07.07.2004