Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-21-Speech-3-027"
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"en.20040421.1.3-027"2
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"Mr President, I visited the island for talks last week. The process of EU accession has raised hopes of a solution to the conflict, but many expectations are still unfulfilled, especially among the Greek Cypriots. The fact that negotiations have been taking place in New York and Switzerland has barely been reported to citizens in the towns and villages of Cyprus. The efforts made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan merit great respect, but it is difficult to communicate 9 000 pages of treaty text to both communities on the island within a matter of weeks, and this has clearly failed due to the different political interests at stake. There are different interpretations of the plan even within the governing coalition of the Republic of Cyprus, as the statements made by the President and the coalition partners demonstrate. These different assessments cannot be ignored, Commissioner.
For the reasons I have stated, there have been serious calls for the postponement of the referendum in order to gain more time for information and opinion-forming. The governing party, AKEL, which is affiliated to my group, is not opposed to the Annan Plan, but given the situation, it is deeply concerned about the possible failure of the referendum, as has already been discussed here. Now there is a need for clear signals from the EU and the UN again. We should not downplay the situation. The country has undergone a war. Northern Cyprus has been under Turkish occupation for thirty years. In view of the concerns that exist, signals on peace and security must be sent out more clearly, and with these concerns in mind, it must be made clear there are no unilateral advantages for either side. Even with the 100% that you rightly question, there is still a problem, namely that these concerns exist at all. Politics is not about finality and eternal truths – the process of German reunification has taught us that. It is about constantly evolving processes, which can be mapped out to some extent in advance but which require a pro-active and very level-headed approach at every stage. In this critical situation, the EU has an obligation, together with the United Nations, to be a reliable partner for the Republic of Cyprus, but also for the two communities, in resolving the conflict. Not only Cyprus, but Europe as a whole will be the winner if we manage to heal this wound."@en1
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