NICOSIA - EU enlargement commissioner Ollie Rehn urged the divided Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities Friday to quickly re-engage in a stalled a UN peace process, saying time was working against them.
"I fear that time is cementing the status quo -- and is thus working against the Cypriots, all Cypriots," Rehn said in a speech here to mark a year since the Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.
"After three decades of separation and one year of EU membership, it is now high time for reconciliation and vision, for courage and far-sightedness on both sides, to help Cyprus become a member state like all the others -- that is: united and in peace," he added.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the north in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
A UN-drafted peace plan to end the long-standing division of Cyprus failed when Greek Cypriots voted it down in a referendum last year. The Turkish Cypriots rallied behind it.
The outcome resulted in only the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south enjoying the benefits of EU membership. The breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, recognised only by Ankara, remains excluded.
Brussels was "disappointed" with the referendum result, but Rehn said the UN blueprint must remain at the core of any Cyprus settlement.
UN chief Kofi Annan is expected to hold "exploratory talks" with Greek Cypriot officials in New York later this month to lay the ground rules for a new peace push.
So far, the Greek Cypriots have failed to outline changes they want to the plan, as requested by Annan. The "talks about talks" are seen as one way of getting around this stumbling block.
Rehn said every day without a solution ensures deepening divisions and escalating tensions over sensitive issues, such as property rights.
Brussels has also tried to lift the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot north as "reward' for backing the UN peace deal.
But the Greek Cypriots have thwarted EU moves to link a 259 million aid package with regulating direct trade with the north. They back the aid package but say dealing directly with the north violates international law.
This has frustrated the EU, increasingly under fire from Turkey for not doing enough, and which now seeks an honourable compromise.
"Every day without a solution reinforces the doubts of those in the north who believe that the EU is not really interested in helping the Turkish Cypriot community. Suspicion and frustration are the best allies of division," said Rehn.
The island's continued division remains a a major hurdle for Turkey's own bid to join the EU, but Rehn is in "no doubt" Ankara will play a key role in reaching a Cyprus solution and that its European prospects will help pave the way for it.
But he said this means Turkey normalising relations with the Republic of Cyprus by signing and meeting the requirements of the EU-Turkey Customs Union.
05/13/2005 13:19 GMT