Four Cypriot MEPs will abstain from voting on the European Parliament’s report on Turkey, which will take place on Wednesday. Following the statement of the Cypriot Left MEPs on Tuesday, the Cypriot delegation of the European People’s Party (EPP) said it would also abstain from voting on the report in question. Cypriot MEPs from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats stated that their stance would depend on the outcome of the vote.
Fourlas and Stavrou to abstain
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The Cypriot delegation of the European People’s Party (EPP) will abstain from voting on the European Parliament’s report on Turkey.
As the MEPs of the European People’s Party (EPP), Loukas Fourlas and Eleni Stavrou, said, speaking to journalists on Tuesday, they will not vote positively due to an amendment in paragraph 34, according to which Turkey is invited again to provide the Turkish Cypriot community with the necessary space in order to act in accordance with its role as a legal community of the island, a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. According to the same amendment, the European Commission is invited to cooperate with the Turkish Cypriot community, reminding that the position of the latter is in the EU. Also, the amendment notes that the Republic of Cyprus has the responsibility to intensify its efforts to facilitate the cooperation of the Turkish Cypriots with the EU.
Until today, as Fourlas and Stavrou stated, “we have been trying to either withdraw or amend the controversial amendment”. “Even if the EPP requests its withdrawal, this can not be withdrawn, so we cannot vote positively,” they explained.
In addition, as they said, there is also the report on Turkey’s Customs Union with the EU, which is more positive, because its wording satisfies Nicosia. “However, our position is that this thing will only happen when the conditions that have been imposed on Turkey are met,” they clarified.
Mavrides and Papadakis identify weaknesses in report
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Weaknesses in the European Parliament’s report on Turkey are identified by the two Cypriot MEPs of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Costas Mavrides and Demetris Papadakis, in their statements to journalists on Tuesday.
MEP Costas Mavrides initially stated that the evaluation of the report on Turkey is not based on its quantity, but on its quality, adding that there are key issues concerning EU-Turkish relations and the Republic of Cyprus. “In essence, it is the strictest report ever made, but it has two very serious weaknesses,” he pointed out. First, he said, the word “sanctions” is nowhere to be found in the report, which was there in earlier reports. He clarified that he is referring to sanctions concerning Cyprus and the internal situation in Turkey.
The second weakness, as Mavrides went on to say, concerns wording which is of decisive importance for Cyprus. He indicated that any initiation of discussions on upgrading Turkey’s Customs Union with the EU must presuppose the fulfilment of Turkey’s existing legal obligations to the EU regarding Cyprus.
Asked about the position he will take in the vote on the report, Mavrides explained that if the final text includes amendments concerning sanctions against Turkey and especially the condition of fulfilling Turkey’s legal obligations from the existing customs union concerning Cyprus, he will vote in favour. Otherwise, as he said, he will abstain.
On his part, MEP Demetris Papadakis emphasised that “as a whole, the report does not change much compared to previous years”. Furthermore, he indicated that “since Turkey continues to imprison its dissident citizens, violate their human rights, while exporting nationalism and imperialism and continues to occupy an EU member state, we should talk about a report of Turkey’s regression “.
Unfortunately, he continued, “this has not been understood by all our European partners, who should understand that the logic of taming the beast and the blackmail imposed by Turkey leads nowhere.” The goal, as he said, must be to support those forces within Turkey that will lead to substantial democratisation of the country. “Only then will Turkey become a factor of stability in the region and not a factor of anomaly”, he concluded.
Asked by journalists about his stance on the vote on the report, Demetris Papadakis noted that he has not decided what he will vote on the report, clarifying that he is thinking of voting in favour of it or to abstain.
Source: Cyprus News Agency