South Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Sunday that Cyprus expects more active involvement by the EU in order to help solve the Cyprus problem, ‘Famagusta Gazette’ reports.
Speaking to the press ahead of the EU Commission President’s visit to Greece, Kasoulides said that during their meeting with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, “both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Greece will raise issues related to the Cyprus problem and seek the active involvement of the European Commission in the solution process.”
He noted that a bad solution of the Cyprus problem would set bad precedents related to EU’s institutions and values, and the acquis communautaire, creating problems with how the EU functions.
The EU should support the position of the Greek Cypriot side “which struggles” not only for Cyprus, but also to defend the interests of the EU, the Foreign Minister said.
Kasoulides added that the solution of the Cyprus problem should not provide for any derogations related to fundamental freedoms or satisfy Turkey’s demand for the solution and any derogations to become EU primary law. “This will never be accepted,” he said.
The Foreign Minister said the Greek Cypriot side would be satisfied if the European Commission’s Representative to the UN Good Offices Mission in Cyprus Pieter Van Nuffel could fulfil his mandate, noting that the Turkish Cypriot leadership does not however, allow this to happen.
According to Kasoulides, September “will be a very important, if not a decisive” month for the Cyprus issue. Both sides would need to agree on the methodology of the negotiations at the very least, he concluded.
