President Ersin Tatar, in his message on 9th May European Day, called upon the European Union to fulfill the promises made to the Turkish Cypriot people during the Annan Plan referendum and put an end to its partial stance on the Cyprus issue. President Tatar’s message is as follows: “While 9th May is being celebrated also this year as the ‘European Day’ just as every year, we are saddened to witness that the EU is moving away from its own fundamental principles, acting in opposition to these principles and pursuing a partial stance on the Cyprus issue. The EU’s stance on the Cyprus issue that disregards the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people is not only alarming but is also hindering solution efforts. The EU must abandon its partial stance on the Cyprus issue in order to facilitate solution efforts in Cyprus. While the EU continues its partial stance; South Cyprus, with an unjust EU membership, takes advantage of this membership to use it as an element of threat, maintains an uncompromising attitude and insists on an unrealistic way of solution based on federal structure. Solution based on federal structure means eliminating the state and the sovereign rights of Turkish Cypriot people, making our people minority, lifting Turkey’s active and effective guarantee and moving away Turkish military from Cyprus. The ongoing Ukraine-Russia war reveals that we cannot abandon our sovereign rights, our state, Motherland Turkey’s guarantee and Turkish military. Our efforts are to reach a just, permanent and sustainable settlement. The way to a settlement goes through the solution proposal that we have put forward for the first time in the negotiations table in Geneva, which is based on two separate, sovereign and equal states, rather than a solution based on federal structure which is not possible to apply. Our solution proposal is supported by the Republic of Turkey, the most powerful and largest country in the region and this is the mere possible way of solution for the benefit of Cyprus and the region. The new vision of the TRNC is consistent with the European Union journey to date, which began with coal and steel cooperation. Our understanding is to obtain a win-win based cooperation and a principle of reciprocal dependency in terms of particularly energy matters and the issues related to daily lives of the two peoples. It is clear that if the Greek Cypriot side responds in a positive manner to our steps in this regard, confidence building measures will be real and this cooperation mechanism will serve for our island and the region. Our expectation from the EU, just as we voice at all times, is to respect the sovereignty demand of Turkish Cypriots, who are a separate people in Cyprus and to act accordingly taking into consideration that among the main principles of the EU comes the respect to the sovereign rights of peoples. We also expect that the EU keeps its promises made to the Turkish Cypriot people during the Annan Plan referendum which took place on 24th April 2004. The EU had promised to reward the Turkish Cypriots for saying yes in the referendum whereas punishing the Greek Cypriots for saying no and also to lift embargoes imposed on Turkish Cypriots if they say yes in the referendum not leaving them out in the dark and cold. None of these promises has been kept although 18 years have passed by. Whilst the promises made by the EU were not kept, Turkish Cypriot people are being forced to become minority of the Greek Cypriots and are still encountering inhuman isolations and embargoes. On behalf of my people, I am calling upon the European Union to put an end to unilateral stance and fulfill the promises made during the Annan Plan referendum. We expect from the Greek Cypriot side to terminate arming and other activities which could create tension and respond positively to our calls for dialogue.”