Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-27-Speech-2-712-000"
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"en.20110927.33.2-712-000"2
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"Madam President, I am not sorry that we are having this debate, because at the end of the day, there has not been any discussion of Turkish-Cypriot relations nor of the situation in Cyprus since 2004. So this is the first time since then that we have had an open discussion about a European Union Member State in which there has been a United Nations international peace-keeping mission since 1964 in relation to a conflict with a country engaged in the accession process.
Stating the facts naturally highlights the fairly ludicrous nature of the situation. As far as I am concerned, this debate is not about whether Cyprus is exercising its sovereign right by deciding to drill in its exclusive economic zone. That is beyond doubt. International law clearly says that Cyprus is in the right, but equally we could envisage a situation whereby, under a future agreement, the benefits from that drilling would be shared fairly between the two communities.
Having said that, I feel that the timing of the operation is reprehensible because, at the end of the day, this decision is prejudicial to the negotiations due to begin in the coming days under the aegis of the United Nations.
In my view, the role of our Parliament – as has already been demonstrated – is not to engage in one-upmanship but rather to make a constructive contribution to achieving overall peace within the framework of an agreement for a federal country made up of two zones and two communities. What is more, the substance of a future agreement is known and almost – I nearly said for the most part – on the table.
The question that we need to ask ourselves as Europeans is what Member States and the European Union are doing to bring a political agreement into the world and to encourage all the stakeholders to take constructive confidence building measures. However, sometimes I feel that the question of Cyprus is intentionally left to one side, to be used when the need arises in the context of relations between the European Union and Turkey.
I would like practical measures to be taken today by the Union and the Member States to support and encourage a rapid resolution to what is essentially a European problem."@en1
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