President Erhürman: “We need Confidence-building measures not only with the Greek Cypriot Leadership, but also with the European Union”

President Tufan Erhürman made a statement following his meeting at the Presidency on Friday with European Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto, who was designated by an internal decision of the European Commission.

President Erhürman stated the following in his written statement:

"We held a useful meeting today with Raffaele Fitto, European Union Executive Vice-President, who was designated by an internal decision of the European Commission.

During the meeting, we explained to him that the recent unilateral and biased attitudes, conduct and decisions of the institutions of the European Union, particularly the European Parliament, have further undermined confidence in the European Union.

In this context, we reiterated, as we have long conveyed to officials of the European Union and its Member States, that confidence-building measures are needed not only with the Greek Cypriot Leadership, but also with the European Union.

I stated to Mr. Fitto that, for reasons well known to everyone, it is not possible for the European Union to participate as a party at any future negotiating table. However, if it wishes to contribute to a fair and lasting settlement on the island, the European Union can play a positive role in relation to European Union-related confidence-building measures.

In this regard, we had the opportunity to discuss issues such as the implementation of the Direct Trade Regulation without further delay, the difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Green Line Regulation, and the negative developments concerning the European Union citizenship and property related problems of Turkish Cypriots.

We also stated to Mr. Fitto that the time has long since come to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people, who have clearly demonstrated their will for a settlement on numerous occasions, and that all obstacles preventing our people, particularly our children, from becoming part of the international community should be removed at the earliest opportunity.”