Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 May 2004
133 Mr. O’Connor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his endeavours, in the context of Ireland’s EU Presidency, to deal with the issue of Cyprus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15744/04]
View answerThe United Nations has the lead role in the search for a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem. It is upon the Secretary General of the United Nations that the Security Council has conferred a mission of good offices in that regard. At the same time, it was the EU enlargement process which provided the impetus for the most recent efforts towards a settlement.
Before and during the UN-led negotiations, the Irish Presidency of the EU offered every support to the United Nations Secretary General in his mission of good offices. The Taoiseach and I liaised closely and regularly with Secretary General Annan, and with his special adviser on Cyprus, Mr. Alvaro de Soto, who visited Dublin on a number of occasions to brief the Presidency on the negotiations and their outcome. We are all deeply grateful to Secretary General Annan, to Mr. de Soto and to their colleagues for their tireless and sustained efforts to bring about a settlement.
The Government was in frequent contact with various parties concerned, including at the highest levels, and encouraged their commitment to the negotiating process and to the pursuit of an agreed outcome. We also maintained close contact with the European Commission, which provided assistance to the UN Secretary General, advising inter alia on the compatibility of the UN proposed settlement with the acquis communautaire. An official of my Department was attached to the Commission delegation for the final phase of the negotiations in Switzerland. The Presidency, represented by my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Roche, participated in the high level pre-donors conference organised by the Commission in Brussels on 15 April. The Minister of State gave an undertaking that, in the event of a positive vote in the referendums, Ireland would provide specific funding in support of the implementation of the settlement in Cyprus.
The Government regrets that following the outcome of the referendums in Cyprus on 24 April, the accession of a united Cyprus to membership of the Union was not possible on 1 May. As Deputies will be aware, the accession of a united Cyprus had been the strong preference of the European Union.
The meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, which I chaired on 26 April, reviewed the situation in the light of the referendum results. The Council expressed its determination to ensure that the people of Cyprus will soon achieve their shared destiny as citizens of a united Cyprus in the European Union. The Council noted that, through the referendum, the Turkish Cypriot community has expressed its clear desire for a future within the EU. It expressed our determination to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community and to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging its economic development. The Council also recommended that the €259 million earmarked for the northern part of Cyprus in the event of a comprehensive settlement should now be used to promote the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community.
I am pleased that Ireland, as EU Presidency, was able to secure partners' agreement to the adoption on 29 April of a Council regulation containing measures to allow trade across the "green line" which traverses the island. The Commission is expected to bring forward comprehensive proposals in the near future focusing on the economic integration of the island and improved contact between the two communities and with the EU.
The UN Secretary General is expected to provide a full report to the Security Council in the near future on his mission of good offices on Cyprus. This will include the account of the negotiations he undertook with the parties, which led up to the referendums on 24 April. Secretary General Annan is expected to draw conclusions and to make recommendations to the Security Council. We will be paying very close attention to his report and to the response of the Security Council.
