Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-21-Speech-3-028"
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"en.20040421.1.3-028"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we do indeed face a situation which is not only difficult but also very sad. For years, we have argued here in this House that we could not let a Turkish nationalist position prevent Cyprus's accession to the European Union. We were always resolute in our position. However, this has led us into a trap which the Greens warned about years ago. We asked what guarantees there were that, with a radical change on the Turkish side, the guaranteed accession of Greek Cyprus would not take place at the expense of the northern part of the island. This debate has always been neglected in this House, and we are paying a high price for this neglect today.
The situation is irreversible, and when they vote in the referendum, the Greek Cypriots will not be deciding their own future. They will decide on the future of the Turkish Cypriot community in the northern part of the island. The Greek Cypriots are already about to join the European Union. And then you talk about the plan. Mr Modrow, please think about it for a moment: the situation is like the Sudeten Germans saying: ‘We refuse to let the Czech Republic join the European Union until our claims in the Czech Republic have been settled.’ This House made it clear that that is unacceptable. As a left-winger, please convey that message to the Greek Cypriots as well. This is an historic plan. On the left and the right, up and down, we are always saying that the UN should do this and the UN should do that … Now, the UN has decided. Of course a plan is a plan; it does not reflect the Greek Cypriot or the Turkish Cypriot position. This UN plan is an attempt to remove the last barbed wire border from the EU. What is our response? The sophists – for we are dealing with Greeks here – are back in power; they say, ‘Yes, it is moving in the right direction, but it could be better’. Yes, the world could be a better place, I admit that. The world could be a much better place, and even if the Greens secure an absolute majority in Europe …
… the world will not become a better place! You see, you were too quick off the mark again, but I know what I am saying. I am convinced that the message we must send out is this. If there is a 'no' vote in the south and a 'yes' in the north, the European Union should open political relations with the north. As a first step, we must lobby for the lifting of the embargo against the north of the island. The citizens in the north should not be held hostage by the south. We cannot allow that on grounds of political decency. Then we will see what happens. One thing is certain, however: there is not a 'possible' UN plan: this is the only one. There is not a 'possible' future: this is the only one.
Very many of you are religious. I believe in miracles. I believe in the miracle that the people in the southern part of the island really will prove to be more intelligent than their self-appointed leaders, including the Green parties in Cyprus."@en1
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