Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-16-Speech-3-150"
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"en.20000216.9.3-150"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I have listened to your comments very carefully, and in particular to the rather emotional comments about Cyprus, especially in defence of the present legal situation in Cyprus, which the European Union specifically acknowledges by recognising the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Mr Wurtz, in no way can it be said that the Council is maintaining an ambiguous silence about this issue: the Council assumes total responsibility for its interpretation of the situation in Cyprus. Moreover, it was this situation and this interpretation which led the Council to take the decision it took in Luxembourg at the end of 1997, when it decided to take the first steps in the accession process for the Republic of Cyprus to join the European Union.
I hope that honourable Members will realise that, regardless of the more or less emotional statements made about issues of this kind, the day-to-day reality of international negotiations normally forces governments to adopt a somewhat more flexible stance – and when I say governments I mean all governments. In fact we need more emotional statements to remind us that all these issues have a human side. But we also need to be aware that it is by virtue of rational political stances, and flexibility in negotiations, that we are able to find solutions to the major disputes which have ultimately led to many tragedies in history.
Regardless of who is to blame – and we are not here to apportion blame, the relevant United Nations resolutions in this area are clear enough – I believe that we should take advantage of the opportunities that the new situation is opening up, in more of a rational way and less of an emotional one. The European Council in Helsinki had the courage to take certain decisions, and I believe that various aspects of these decisions have already recognised the real value of these opportunities which, as I said at the beginning of my first speech, represent a window of opportunity. We will not achieve concrete results during this stage of negotiations, which is a delicate and sensitive phase, by exploiting tensions. No, we should continue to make progress by working discreetly to support the special representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations with his remit. The European Union’s position on this is crystal clear, and I do not think it is worthwhile second-guessing particular phrases in the Council’s conclusions or in any other statement. We do not play at political correctness in this House: we are concerned with fairness at international level and with concrete statements on this issue consistently defined by the Council over a period of time, and which the European Commission has also followed carefully, attentively and pragmatically.
So when we talk now about the need to involve the Northern Cyprus community in exchanges of information, particularly with a view to the eventual accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union, we need to be aware that we are trying to find practical formulas that will enable us to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of a political solution. We are not trying to deceive anyone and we are in no way trying to use practical solutions to create a model implying political recognition. I believe that, over time, the Council of the European Union has clearly demonstrated that this is not how it sees this issue. Decisions have been taken by the Council with a great sense of responsibility. We believe that Helsinki was very clear in this respect. The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus itself have clearly recognised that our relations with them regarding their accession to the European Union have been positive. There is no point in second-guessing or trying to second-guess our intentions."@en1
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