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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage movement towards a settlement in Cyprus. [R] [196875] Mr. MacShane: Following the referendum on the UN Secretary General's comprehensive settlement plan in which the Greek Cypriots voted "no" and the Turkish Cypriots "yes", the EU agreed to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. In practice, we are working to reach EU agreement on regulations to enable preferential direct trade between north Cyprus and the rest of the EU, and to disburse the £259 million of aid allocated for the north of the island. We support these measures as we believe it is important for the EU to bring Turkish Cypriots closer to Europe, and help to build trade links and reduce the economic gap between the two communities. This will make reunification more likely, easier to consolidate and less costly. Trade will increase trust and lay the foundations for co-operation in a reunified Cyprus. A widening wealth gap and continued economic division will make a solution much more difficult. As I told the Greek Cypriot leadership during my recent visit to the island, we understand the concerns that made Greek Cypriots vote "no" to the UN plan and look forward to seeing Greek Cypriot proposals on moving the process forward. If we believe the proposals are reasonable and have a realistic chance of success, we will encourage the UN Secretary-General to re-engage and put all our resources and influence behind finding a solution on the basis of the Annan Plan that is acceptable to all sides. We continue to believe that the Annan Plan offers the only realistic basis for a settlement to the Cyprus problem.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

426 c630-1W; 196875

Session

2003-04

Registered interest declared

Yes

Subjects

Cyprus EU internal trade Trade Peace negotiations Northern Cyprus

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk