The EU and the EP will support both in political and financial terms a settlement in Cyprus, the President of European Parliament, Martin Schulz assured the youth of the island urging them to fall in love and get to know each other, but also sending the message that “Turkey can not hold anyone as hostage”.
Schulz participated in a live televised discussion broadcasted by CyBC with 40 young people from Cyprus, 20 Greek Cypriots and 20 Turkish Cypriots. The young people had the opportunity to ask EP President questions regarding the migration crisis, unemployment, Cyprus problem and other issues. The discussion was coordinated by a journalists of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and one of Cyprus News Agency. The EP President noted that it was the first time he participated in such a direct dialogue with young people at a TV show.
During the discussion, he referred, inter alia, to his own experience as a German sitizen who lived the reunification of his country. He was 35 years old when Germany was reunited and now nobody remembers how it was before, he said. The EU today is not completed because a part of Cyprus should become a member of the Union and only then we can say that all Europeans we are together, he added.
Schulz pledged that he will do anything in his power to help end the war in Syria and noted that the migration crisis and the accession process of Turkey should be regarded as separate issues.
Asked about the unemployment among young people in Europe that also faces repeated terror attacks, refugees inflow and many other problems and if this is the EU he envisioned himself and “will inherited to us,” Martin Schulz replied “of course not. Definitely no”. In the EU he envisioned and envisions there is no place for youth unemployment and terrorism, he said and added that the ideal for him is the coexistence and cooperation of nations and peoples, where mutual respect prevails. “Youth unemployment is a scandal against which I fight”. Europe is the richest continent in the world, but the wealth is not equally distributed either between regions nor among the people of the continent, he said. In some countries unemployment exceeds 50% and this is devastating, he added.
Replying to another question on racism, Schulz said that racism in Europe must be fought and no one should be master or servant. “We may not be all the same, but we should all be equal,” he noted.
Asked about the positions of the Turkish Cypriot side for permanent derogation of the aqui communataire and to make any agreement reached in Cyprus a primary law of the EU and what is the EP`s position regarding this issues, Schultz said he is in Cyprus to listen and not to lecture. “Definitely there will be a solution, but I can not suggest the type of the solution”.
Invited to comment on the accession of Turkey to the EU, the EP President said that Turkey’s accession negotiations last for a few decades and they will continue for some time more, while there are many countries that do not want the country to join the Union. “Turkey can not hold you hostage, Turkey can not hold anyone hostage,” he said. Any violations reported (of EEZ) is not something that can be accepted, he added.
Asked about President Anastasiades` letter to the EU requesting that Turkish language becomes an official EU language, Martin Schulz said that this is an important, symbolic and courageous act showing the intention and will of the President Anastasiades for the solution of Cyprus problem, noting that he had began to learn Turkish. “My name is Martin. I am German” he said in Turkish. If we have a united, federal Cyprus then Turkish should be an EU official language, he said.
Answering a question about the continuation of Turkish guarantees, Schulz said that when Cyprus will be reunited there will be one country and it will be its duty to protects its citizens. Asked about what will the EU do if there is no solution, the EP President said that it is better to reach a solution and reiterated its position that there is now an historic opportunity which must be seized.
Asked by a participant to offer advised based on his own experience and knowledge to young people on how to rebuild long-term relations between the two communities in order to make the right steps to solve the Cyprus problem, Martin Schulz prompt: “fall in love as much as possible with each other at both sides. I think love is the best way to get to know each other”. Young people of 17 and 18 years old who do not have the experiences of separation as the older generations, can move on without prejudice he said referring to cultural, social and other exchanges.
Asked whether there would be a financial assistance from the EU in a case a solution is reached, the EP President said that it is clear that the project (of the reunification) would be expensive.
The EU will support both financially and politically a united Cyprus, Schultz sais to an 18 year old participant in the discussion who said that he is a refugee and would like to return to Famagusta. How you will return to your hometown that is an issue that should be answered through negotiations, he noted, adding that the EU is obliged to provide the financial support that the country needs.
The Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004, is divided by Turkish troops since the Turkish invasion in 1974. UN led talks, aiming at reunifying the island under a federal political system, resumed in May 2015. Turkey still occupies 37% of Cyprus` territory and refuses to withdraw its troops despite numerous resolutions and decisions by international organisations and Courts.