21 Special rules for the Cyprus Green
Line
| (25640)
8208/04
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| Draft Council Regulation on a regime under Article 2 of Protocol No. 10 of the Act of Accession
|
| Legal base | Article 2 of Protocol 10 and Article 6 of Protocol 3 of the Act of Accession; unanimity
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| Document originated | 28 April 2004
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| Deposited in Parliament | 10 May 2004
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 10 May 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | None, but see (25450) 7174/04: HC 42-xvi (2003-04), para 8 (31 March 2004)
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| Discussed in Council | 29 April 2004
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
21.1 Pending a settlement of the Cyprus problem, Article 1 of
Protocol 10 of the Act of Accession provides that the application
of the EU's acquis will be suspended in those areas in which the
Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective
control — that is, the northern part of the island. Article
2 of Protocol 10 states that the Council should define the terms
under which the provisions of EU law should apply to the line
dividing the island (the Green Line).
21.2 Protocol 3 of the Act of Accession puts in place
special arrangements for the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs).
21.3 In March, the Commission drafted a Regulation
setting out special rules concerning the crossing of persons,
goods and services that should apply to the Green Line. To ensure
its effectiveness, this also covered the boundary between the
northern part of Cyprus and the Eastern Sovereign Base Area (ESBA).
We cleared the draft Regulation on 31 March.
21.4 In the 24 April referendums on the UN Settlement
Plan for Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot community rejected the Plan,
while the Turkish Cypriot community voted in favour. It was therefore
necessary to put a revised Regulation in place before 1 May 2004
(when Cyprus and the other nine Accession States joined the Union)
reflecting the determination of the 26 April General Affairs and
External Relations Council (GAERC) that post-accession arrangements
should take "due account of the Council's desire to send
a signal of encouragement to the Turkish Cypriot community that
its future rests in a united Cyprus within the European Union".
A revised Green Line Regulation was agreed on 29 April.
The Regulation
21.5 The revised Regulation covers, among other things,
trade, movement of people, Customs, food safety, taxation and
travel facilities. It seeks to balance a clear legal framework
facilitating trade and other links between the two parts of the
island and the safeguarding of public and animal health within
the single market. Compared with the first draft of the Regulation,
it significantly extends the range of products that can be traded
across the Green Line. With the exception of animals and animal
products (on food safety grounds), all goods wholly produced in
the north or substantially manufactured there will be able to
cross, as long as they meet EU requirements. There is a stronger
role in the revised Regulation for the Commission, which:
- will be responsible for authorising
bodies able to certify the origin of goods in the northern part
of Cyprus, in agreement with the Government of the Republic of
Cyprus; and
- will have the power to change the crossing points
between the Republic of Cyprus and the north of the island and
to change the requirements that apply to the goods crossing, again
with the agreement of the Republic of Cyprus (rather than at the
request of the Republic of Cyprus, as previously required).
21.6 There will be a two-month transitional period
to allow the Commission to put the necessary arrangements in place.
There is provision for an annual review, which will also look
at the value and volume of trade flows.
The Government's view
21.7 In his 10 May Explanatory Memorandum, the Minister
for Europe (Mr Denis MacShane) says that "the Government
strongly regrets that it was not possible to achieve a Cyprus
settlement by 1 May"; "that this updated draft of the
Green Line Regulation now reflects the political reality of the
referenda results on 24 April"; and that "any Regulation
needs to take account of the GAERC conclusions on 26 April".
21.8 He further notes that "the revised Green
Line Regulation is in line with the Government's objective that
the Turkish Cypriot community is not punished by the Greek Cypriot
rejection of the UN Plan, and that accession by a divided island
on 1 May does not exacerbate the division of the island".
He judges that "the regime put in place covering the Green
Line is sufficient to protect the security of the EU, including
by preventing illegal immigration and by regulating the flow of
goods into the single market". He adds that "the Government
considers that the additional requirements placed on the SBA Administration
are consistent with their other activities" and that "given
the physical limitations of the Eastern SBA crossing points, the
Government welcomes the expressed willingness of the Government
of the Republic of Cyprus to open more crossing points".
Conclusion
21.9 We note that the revised draft Regulation
was not submitted to the Committee until after it was agreed,
but we recognise the unique and compelling circumstances that
applied in this instance.
21.10 We clear the document.
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