NICOSIA (CIHAN) - The New President of the European Union (EU) Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso of Portugal said on Wednesday that he supports Turkey's EU membership personally but he must see the report of the EU Commission before delivering an opinion.
Attending a meeting of the Greens Group in the European Parliament, Barroso answered questions from members. Turkish-origin member, Cem Ozdemir, asked about Barroso's attitude toward Cyprus and Turkey and his assessment of the current situation.
Barraso stated that he supports a unified Cyprus and was disappointed with the negative response by the Greek side on the referendum held in April. He said, "I told Greek Cyprus leader, Papadopulos in his visit to Portugal that I think we must work with Cyprus officials to for another chance to unify the island."
Noting that EU membership for a divided Cyprus is disappointing, Barroso said that the EU should make every effort to unify Cyprus.
Reminded of the proposal of the EU Commission to remove the embargo imposed on Cyprus Turkish, Barroso said , "This was an initiative. We must to work with Northern Cyprus without giving support to separation, but economic relations should be allowed with Northern Cyprus".
Turkey had revealed that she supports the election of former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso as new President of the EU Commission. The former Portuguese Prime Minister is known for his support of Turkey's EU membership. He has said that there is no turning back from Turkey's EU membership bid.