Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Second Report


Formal minutes

Tuesday 1 February 2005

Members present:

Donald Anderson, in the Chair
Mr David Chidgey

Mr Fabian Hamilton

Mr Eric Illsley

Mr Andrew Mackay
Andrew Mackinlay

Mr John Maples

Sir John Stanley

The Committee deliberated.

Draft Report (Cyprus), proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Ordered, That the Chairman's draft Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.

Paragraph 1 read, as follows:

The island of Cyprus has been divided between its majority Greek Cypriot and minority Turkish Cypriot populations physically since 1974, and psychologically for far longer. Attempts to end the physical division, to find a solution to what has become known as "the Cyprus problem" came closer to success than ever before in 2004, with the publication of a UN-brokered scheme—the 'Annan Plan'—on which both communities were able to vote in simultaneous referendums. The result of those referendums, in which two thirds of Turkish Cypriots supported the Plan, but three quarters of Greek Cypriots rejected it, was a stalemate. The internationally-recognised Republic of Cyprus, which exercises sovereignty over only the Greek Cypriot-controlled parts of the island, entered the European Union in May 2004; the self-styled 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' is recognised only by Turkey, 35,000 of whose troops are garrisoned there. Turkey's candidature for membership of the EU is blighted by the fact that its forces occupy a large part of the territory of an existing member state. It is hardly surprising that, after decades of simmering on the back burner of international priorities, the Cyprus problem has become a focus of attention. A further attempt to find a solution which is acceptable to a majority of all the people of Cyprus is likely to take place later this year.

  Amendment proposed, in line 6, after the first word "referendums" to insert the words "However, the result of the referendum in the North was seriously flawed by the inclusion and participation of countless thousands of citizens of the Republic of Turkey. Their inclusion was contrary to European norms. It reflects badly on the UN and governments who for expediency acquiesced in this. No-one was able to produce for the Committee a breakdown of the proportions of those on the northern electoral roll who were citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and who were citizens of the Republic of Turkey, or nationals of other states.".—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.

  Another Amendment proposed, in line 7, to leave out the words "Turkish Cypriots" and insert the words "those participating in the North".—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.

An Amendment made

Paragraph, as amended, agreed to.

Paragraphs 2 to 13 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 14 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 15 to 37 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 38 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 39 to 75 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 76 read, as follows:

To many Greek Cypriots, the question of how many settlers voted for the Plan and whether they swung the vote (clearly, they did not) is irrelevant—the point is that as illegal immigrants they should not have been allowed to vote at all. The Greek Cypriot leadership naturally raised this point with Mr Annan during the negotiating process, pointing out various precedents and legal opinions. In his 'good offices' report, the Secretary-General noted that the Greek Cypriot side had proposed that voting in the referendum should be limited to those who had Cypriot citizenship in 1963 and their descendants. The report refers to the "apparent impracticability" of this proposal and that it would have required the Turkish Cypriots to accept the Greek Cypriot interpretation of the history of their island in the early 1960s. In the event, despite "persistent, repeated calls" by the Greek Cypriot side to disenfranchise the settlers, they were allowed to vote in the referendum. As Lord Hannay put it,

The voting rolls which existed for Turkish Cypriot parliamentary elections and Turkish Cypriot presidential elections were in existence and they were what they were. I think it was generally agreed, and indeed the Greek Cypriots knew all about this, that this was a valid basis on which to seek an opinion.

Amendment proposed, in line 3, after the word "all." to insert the words "This is undeniably a valid argument for those giving fealty to the internationally-recognised Republic of Cyprus to advance.". —(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.

  Another Amendment proposed, in line 18, at the end, to add the words "Despite what the Secretary-General and Lord Hannay have said, it would have at the very least been appropriate for those voting in the northern referendum to have been identified as either settlers or as citizens of the de jure Republic of Cyprus prior to voting and for their votes to have been counted separately.".—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.

Paragraph agreed to.

  Paragraph 77 read, as follows:

The arguments against allowing settlers to vote were undoubtedly strong. We acknowledge the force of the case made by the government of the Republic of Cyprus and we note that the electoral rolls in the North clearly include information on when voters attained 'citizenship'. It would thus have been feasible to restrict the vote in the North to those born on the island, most of whom are Turkish Cypriot citizens of the Republic of Cyprus. Against this, however, it has to be remembered that the fate of the settlers, too, was being determined. Their right to remain on the island was at stake. Most of the settlers also consider themselves to be 'citizens' of the 'TRNC,' to which they pay their taxes and under whose laws they live. Their rights cannot be ignored.

  Amendment proposed, in line 6, to leave out from the word "Cyprus." to the word "Most" in line 8.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.

  An Amendment made.

  Paragraph, as amended, agreed to.

Paragraphs 78 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraph 79 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 80 read, as follows:

After careful consideration, we conclude that it was right that all those on the electoral roll in northern Cyprus were able to participate in the referendum held in April 2004, and we recommend that the same arrangements should apply in respect of any future referendum on a solution to the Cyprus problem.

  Motion made, and Question proposed, to leave out paragraph 80 and insert the following new paragraphs:

It was wholly wrong for people other than citizens of the Republic of Cyprus to have been permitted to participate in the referendum held in April 2004. No-one was able to produce for the Committee a breakdown of the proportion of those on the northern electoral roll who were citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and who ere citizens of the republic of Turkey, or nationals of other states.

As a consequence of including indiscriminately all those on the 'electoral roll', regardless of citizenship, and allowing them to participate in the referendum, means that the result was, to say the least, seriously flawed. The inclusion and participation of countless thousands of citizens of the Republic of Turkey in the referendum was contrary to western European norms and it reflects badly on the UN and on the governments who for expediency acquiesced in this.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question put and negatived.

Paragraph agreed to.

Paragraphs 81 to 99 read, amended and agreed to.

  Paragraph 100 read, as follows:

In an apparent bid to obtain concessions from Ankara ahead of the December 2004 EU summit, when a decision on Turkey's entry was to be made, President Papadopoulos described his country's newly-acquired veto as "a weapon we have in our hands." He also claims to have plenty of ammunition, with no fewer than 64 opportunities to block Turkey's accession: one at the beginning and one at the end; and two for each of the 31 technical chapters. In our view, however, the veto is a single-use weapon; its use by a small member state on a matter which was not generally accepted to be one of vital national interest would be catastrophic for that state's credibility and would cause a major crisis within the Union.

Amendment proposed, in line 6, to leave out from the word "chapters." to the end of the paragraph.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

Question put, That the Amendment be made.

The Committee divided.

Ayes, 3

Mr David Chidgey

Mr Eric Illsley

Andrew Mackinlay

Noes, 3

Mr Fabian Hamilton

Mr Andrew Mackay

Mr John Maples

Whereupon the Chairman declared himself with the Ayes.

  Paragraph, as amended, agreed to.

  Paragraph 101 read, as follows:

Talk of using the veto so soon after joining the club may be unpopular, but there is also some evidence to suggest that, since entering the European Union, the government of Cyprus's actions have been less than wholeheartedly communautaire. The spirit of cooperation, the big picture which was the impetus behind European enlargement, seems to be lacking. For example, the Republic of Cyprus, which has successfully claimed to represent all the people of the island, has appointed only one Turkish Cypriot to its representation in Brussels. Cyprus has also blocked the EU's direct trade proposal, which we discuss in detail below. Commenting on Cyprus's obstruction of the financial aid and trade proposals, Dr MacShane, said: "We have not found a solution and it would be perfectly fair to say that, in my judgment, the officials of the Republic of Cyprus are not working with us to find a solution." Christopher Brewin was of the opinion that "the European Union has to get a grip on it."

  Amendment proposed, in line 1, to leave out from the beginning to the word "the" in line 5.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.

  Paragraph agreed to.

  Paragraph 102 read, amended and agreed to.

  Paragraph 103 read, as follows:

We conclude that there is as yet little evidence that the Republic of Cyprus has fully taken on board that its membership of the EU involves obligations, as well as opportunities. We recommend that the Government work on a bilateral level, and with its European partners, to encourage Cyprus to adapt to European Union values and methods of working.

Motion made and Question proposed, That the paragraph be disagreed to.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question put and negatived.

  Paragraphs 104 to 114 read and agreed to.

  Paragraph 115 read, as follows:

We are greatly disappointed that it has so far proved impossible to gain agreement on the modest but important proposals to improve the operation and usefulness of the Green Line Regulation on intra-island trade. We recommend that the United Kingdom work closely with the Luxembourg presidency to secure early implementation of these changes and to streamline procedures for making further amendments. We further recommend that the EU should take steps to bring in genuinely free trade, with traders in the South of the island being free to move goods and products across the line to the North.

Amendment proposed, in line 3, to leave out from the word "trade." to the end of the paragraph.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

Question proposed, That the Amendment be made:—Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

  Paragraph agreed to.

Paragraphs 116 to 121 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 122 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 123 to 126 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 127 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 128 to 145 read and agreed to.

  Paragraph 146 read, as follows:

We recommend that in its response to this Report, if not sooner, the Government clarify whether it has the power to authorise direct passenger flights between the United Kingdom and northern Cyprus. We further recommend that, if it does possess the power to authorise flights, the Government announce a date from which such services will be permitted, subject to satisfactory safety inspections of the facilities at Ercan and other assurances.

Motion made and Question proposed, That the paragraph be disagreed to.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question put and negatived.

Paragraphs 147 to 153 read and agreed to.

  Paragraph 154 read, amended and agreed to.

  Paragraphs 155 to 162 read and agreed to.

  Paragraph 163 read, as follows:

We reiterate our previous strong support for Turkish membership of the European Union. We conclude, however, that in practice Turkish accession will be impossible for as long as there is no settlement of the Cyprus problem. We also conclude that Turkey has the power greatly to assist both a settlement in Cyprus and its EU aspirations, for example by withdrawing some of its many thousands of troops from the island, and we call upon it to do so.

  Amendment proposed, in line 1, to leave out from the beginning to the word "that" in line 2 and insert the words "We conclude".—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

Question put, That the Amendment be made.

The Committee divided.

Ayes, 2

Mr Eric Illsley

Andrew Mackinlay

Noes, 4

Mr Fabian Hamilton

Mr Andrew Mackay

Mr John Maples

Sir John Stanley

Paragraph agreed to.

  Paragraphs 164 to 170 read and agreed to.

  Paragraph 171 read, as follows:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus obliquely expressed its annoyance with the United Kingdom's policy on Cyprus, by informing us of the "disappointment" of Greek Cypriots about United Kingdom actions during the Annan Plan negotiating process "trying to undermine the positions of the Greek Cypriot side" and about

… the fact that British policy, following the 24 April 2004 referendum, has not shown, in practice, respect for the will of the overwhelming majority of the Greek Cypriots, as expressed during the voting. There is a feeling that the British policy towards Cyprus, although in words purports to aim for the reunification, in actual terms consolidates the division and the alienation of the two communities bringing feelings of disappointment to the Greek Cypriot community.

Dr Claire Palley, who from 1980 to 2004 acted as constitutional consultant to the President of Cyprus, told us that "the long-standing and consistent attempts to balance Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot interests were, from late 2002 onwards, subordinated to a desire to secure Turkish and American interests, with this policy being supported by Her Majesty's Foreign Office." We received comments of a similar nature also from some individual Greek Cypriots and from some representative Greek Cypriot organisations, but we do not accept that such assertions can be substantiated.

  Amendment proposed, in line 19, to leave out from the word "organisations" to the end of the paragraph.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.

  Paragraphs 172 to 204 read and agreed to.

  A paragraph—(Andrew Mackinlay)—brought up and read, as follows:

As will be seen from the table above, it is not at the moment possible to identify exactly the numbers of settlers and those indigenous Turkish Cypriots who are, constitutionally and/or de jure, citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and European Union citizens. If the Council of Europe's estimate of 115,000 settlers in North Cyprus is correct, this seriously undermines the integrity of the referendum in the North. In short the referendum in the North was seriously flawed and it is a dangerous delusion for the international community and in particular the EU and the UN Secretary-General to pretend otherwise. It is also a very bad precedent for the EU and the Secretary-General to acquiesce in the pretence that the referendum had integrity. Such expediency not only reflects badly on the Secretary-General and the EU, but will also be prayed in aid by parties on other conflict situations elsewhere in the world.

Question put, That the paragraph be read a second time.

The Committee divided.

Ayes, 2

Mr Eric Illsley

Andrew Mackinlay

Noes, 5

Mr David Chidgey

Mr Fabian Hamilton

Mr Andrew Mackay

Mr John Maples

Sir John Stanley

Paragraph 205 read, as follows:

We recommend that a population census be held in northern Cyprus, funded by the European Union and carried out either by an appropriate international body or by the Turkish Cypriot authorities under close international supervision.

Amendment proposed, in line 2, to leave out from the word "out" to the end of the paragraph and to insert the words "by an appropriate international body. This census must identify those who are settlers and those who are de jure citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and, ipso facto, existing citizens of the European Union and only the latter would be permitted to participate in any future referendum.".—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

Question put, That the Amendment be made.

The Committee divided.

Ayes, 2

Mr Eric Illsley

Andrew Mackinlay

Noes, 5

Mr David Chidgey

Mr Fabian Hamilton

Mr Andrew Mackay

Mr John Maples

Sir John Stanley

Paragraph agreed to.

  Paragraph 206 read and agreed to.

  Paragraph 207 read, as follows:

We therefore feel guardedly optimistic that there may be scope for some limited adjustment of the provisions of the Annan Plan in relation to the settler issue. We suggest that such an adjustment could most realistically focus on providing strong economic incentives for settlers to return to Turkey, combined with stricter limitations on the granting of citizenship or the right of residence. These measures can be portrayed as a mirror image of those which apply to Greek Cypriots seeking to reclaim their properties in the North: quantitative limits, offset by financial compensation. They would introduce a greater symmetry to the Plan and they would satisfy the criterion we set ourselves earlier in this Report, of seeking changes to the Plan which would meet the demands of Greek Cypriots, while not damaging the interests of Turkish Cypriots.

  Amendment proposed, in line 5, to leave out from the word "residence" to the end of the paragraph.—(Andrew Mackinlay.)

  Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.

  Paragraphs 208 and 209 read and agreed to.

Paragraphs 210 and 211 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 212 to 231 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 232 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 233 to 235 read and agreed to.

  Paragraphs—(Andrew Mackinlay)—brought up and read, as follows:

The Annan Plan was adopted as 'the way forward' uncritically, by most of the main players and in particular the British Government. It should be recognised in retrospect that the Plan was seriously flawed. Indeed, had it been endorsed by referendums in both the North and in Greek Cyprus there would have been a very real danger of it seriously unravelling after accession, because so much important detail had, in all reality, not been agreed. Such a situation could have resulted in the nightmare scenario where the EU would have had for the very first time the chemistry for internal armed conflict on a significant scale, as well as a serious crisis with a member of NATO, Turkey.

The need to meet the deadline of Cyprus's European Union accession had meant not only trimming on essential details vital to the interests of both sides, but also the efficacy of the referendums. We refer, by way of example, to:

(i)  not enough work having been done on the numbers of Turkish settlers who would be required to return to Turkey;

(ii)  not enough work done on arrangements for the restitution of property and/or the criteria whereby compensation would be negotiated, arbitrated or in some cases presented as the only option;

(iii)  failure to agree in advance sums which Turkey might make available to help fund compensation;

(iv)  failure to agree an internationally acceptable electoral roll for the referendum in the North which either excluded non-EU/republic of Cyprus citizens (ie the settlers) or at least placed the latter on a separate roll in order that a true measure of Turkish Cypriot opinion could be gauged.

In short, the Annan Plan was a fudge and so incomplete that it is little wonder that many felt unable to vote for it. It may, however, be a blessing in disguise. Although flawed and incomplete, the Annan Plan still forms the only foundation for progress. It must now be built on, the gaps filled in and the details sorted out. This, we hope, may now be achieved without the aggravation that the EU accession date deadline caused.

Question put, That the paragraphs be read a second time.

The Committee divided.

Ayes, 2

Mr Eric Illsley

Andrew Mackinlay

Noes, 5

Mr David Chidgey

Mr Fabian Hamilton

Mr Andrew Mackay

Mr John Maples

Sir John Stanley

Paragraph 236 read and agreed to.

Annex agreed to.

Resolved, That the Report, as amended, be the Second Report of the Committee to the House.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the House.

Ordered, That the provisions of Standing Order No.134 (Select committees (reports)) be applied to the Report.

Several Papers were ordered to be appended to the Minutes of Evidence.

Ordered, That the appendices to the Minutes of Evidence taken before the Committee be reported to the House.—(The Chairman.)

[Adjourned till Tuesday 22 February at 2.30pm.


 
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