Supplementary written evidence submitted
by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
DIRECT FLIGHTS
TO NORTHERN
CYPRUS
1 Ercan—or Tymbou—Airport is
the main commercial airport in northern Cyprus. It has been operating
since April 1976 and currently handles about 16-20 incoming and
outgoing flights and 70-80 overflights each day. Flight levels
increase during holiday periods.
THE EU DIMENSION
2 Since 1 May 2004, the whole of the island
of Cyprus is now in the EU but under Protocol 10 to the Accession
Treaty, the EU's acquis is suspended in the north pending a settlement.
The suspension of the acquis means that the EU open skies arrangements
do not cover the north. EU operators wishing to fly to the north
therefore need a route licence and to file flight plans with the
relevant authorities in accordance with the appropriate national
legislation.
3 The only way of changing this would be
to withdraw partially the suspension of the acquis to extend open
skies to the north. This would require a unanimous decision in
the European Council. The Commission have made clear they consider
flights to the north as primarily an issue for national governments
and do not plan any initiatives themselves.
UK LEGAL POSITION
4 All direct commercial flights between
the UK and airports outside the EU's open skies arrangements or
other similar arrangements require permission either from the
Civil Aviation Authority (for UK operators) or from the Department
for Transport (for non-UK operators). The DfT also has various
enforcement powers. Under the Civil Aviation Act 1982, the power
to make provision for air services in an Air Navigation Order
is expressed to be for the purpose of "carrying out the Chicago
Convention."
5 Cyprus Turkish Airlines, a Turkey-registered
carrier, flies between the UK and Turkey about 50 times a week.
These flights then fly on to Ercan. HMG policy to date has been
to refuse to issue permits for direct flights to north Cyprus.
We have not yet reached a decision on whether to change this policy
in response to the new situation created by the referenda of 24
April.
US POSITION
6 The US Government has not yet made a policy
determination on the issue of direct flights to northern Cyprus.
We understand the US legal position is different to ours. The
US has open skies arrangements with a range of third countries,
including Turkey. We believe that pursuant to most of these agreements
any carrier from the relevant third country can fly to the US
via any intermediate airport without permission from the US authorities
provided that the intermediate airport meets US security standards.
ORGANISATIONS WHERE
CYPRIOT APPLICATION
FOR ENTRY
HAS BEEN
BLOCKED BY
TURKEY
The Committee asked for a list of Organisations
to which Turkey belongs, where entry is by unanimity and where
Turkey has exercised its veto to prevent the Republic of Cyprus
from joining. I should point out that the only examples we are
aware of are those that have been brought to our attention by
the Republic of Cyprus, who claim that Turkey has taken action
to prevent Cyprus from joining the following organisations/initiatives:
European Council of Ministers of Transport
European Centre for Medium Weather Forecast
European Organisation for the Exploitation of
Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) Open Skies Agreement
Missile Technology Control Regime
The Republic of Cyprus has also claimed that
Turkey has taken action to prevent Cyprus from joining the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). However, it
should be pointed out that Cyprus is one of 15 countries wishing
to join, and as yet the OECD has not reached agreement on the
candidature of any of these countries.
CENSUS ISSUES
IN NORTHERN
CYPRUS
The Committee asked for the Government's view
on whether we would favour a census monitored by independent international
observers to accurately establish the number of people living
in the north, including the number of people who had emigrated
from the Turkish mainland.
As I said to the Committee at the time, we recognise
the value of the Turkish Cypriot authorities being able to announce
clearly the number of people and where they came from and where
they were born and to put that in the public domain. I commented
that it is a normal situation for any administration, whether
it is a local council or a national government, to need to know
the number of people living under their administration in order
to decide allocation of schools, housing, land, water, electricity
and so on.
The Government continues to believe that the
Annan Plan represents the best possible basis of reuniting the
island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. We hope that the
two communities on the island can soon resume negotiations on
the basis of the Annan Plan. Establishing clearer figures on the
population in northern Cyprus may well be a factor in these negotiations,
and will of course affect the implementation of the plan if agreed.
We think an accurate census would be a good thing. But the question
of how to bring one about is best addressed in the context of
renewed efforts towards achieving a settlement. It would be for
the two communities on the island, in conjunction with the United
Nations, to discuss the contribution that a census could make
to the achievement of an overall solution. Obviously, any census
in the north could only be conducted with the support of the Turkish
Cypriot authorities.
As the Committee flagged up, this is a sensitive
area but we can take some comfort from the fact that the parties
made significant progress in this area in the course of the Annan
Plan negotiations. The Foundation Agreement in the Annan Plan
established the criteria of eligibility for Cypriot citizenship
and residency. The federal citizenship law, as agreed by both
sides during the negotiations, set out the detailed rules and
procedures for granting citizenship of the new United Cyprus Republic.
In the final version of the Annan Plan, the number of those resident
in north Cyprus of mainland Turkish origin who could become citizens
of the new Cyprus was capped at 45,000, with preference given
to spouses of Turkish Cypriots and people born in Cyprus. Others
eligible were identified on the basis of length of stay. Each
side submitted to the UN before the referenda on 24 April a list
of less than 45,000 persons who would acquire citizenship, in
addition to those who had citizenship in 1963 and their descendants,
on entry into force of the Foundation Agreement.
INITIATIVES AND
EVENTS ORGANISED
BY THE
BRITISH HIGH
COMMISSION IN
NICOSIA
As a general principle, the British High Commission
(BHC) aims wherever possible to make its activities on the island
bi-communal as does the British Council. The British High Commissioner
regularly hosts a wide range of receptions and other events at
his residence involving politicians, members of the business community,
civil society, the media and other opinion formers from both sides.
Every year, the High Commission organises meetings
between Greek and Turkish Cypriot Chevening Scholars. In early
2005, there will be a training seminar for Greek and Turkish Cypriot
journalists on "Reporting the EU". Wilton Park will
also be holding a conference in Cyprus, inviting representatives
from both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, as well
as international experts, to discuss future prospects.
In the last year and looking ahead to next year,
BHC efforts have focused particularly on EU training for both
sides. The BHC works closely with the Government of the Republic
of Cyprus on EU issues. Through an intensive programme of technical
assistance we have shared our expertise and developed important
and valuable links between our two governments. Because of our
close ties and shared history, Cyprus is an important EU partner
for the UK. Over the last four years the BHC's European Union
Series of conferences, seminars and training workshops, developed
and managed jointly with the British Council, has evolved into
one of the largest EU public awareness programmes organised in
the region. Over 60 major events have been held, and many of these
(since the easing of restrictions on crossing the Green Line in
2003) attended by members of both communities.
However, given the different needs of the two
sides, and as a result of the asymmetric relationships with the
EU, it is not always appropriate to involve members of both communities
in every event. An example of an activity necessarily confined
to participation from the Greek Cypriot side has been a series
of closely focused projects, conducted with the active involvement
of the office of the EU Co-ordinator and the Government ministries,
seeking to develop the capacity of the Republic of Cyprus's public
administration to participate effectively in EU institutions,
to develop EU policies and to implement European programmes.
BHC events in north Cyprus are designed to meet
the twin objectives of a) bringing Turkish Cypriots closer to
the EU and b) facilitating an eventual settlement and reunification
of the island. Since February 2001, the BHC has been organising
EU training courses for the Turkish Cypriot community. Over 1,200
people have received general or specialised training. Course participants
included lawyers, judges, businessmen and women, journalists,
teachers, as well as representatives from the public sector, political
parties, trade unions and NGOs. Two more courses are planned before
April 2005 for a further 300 people. Since 2002, BHC has organised
bi-annual conferences aimed at giving not only those who have
participated in the EU training courses but also the general public
the chance to update and to improve their understanding of events
and trends in the EU. Topics have included: the Constitutional
Treaty, the Lisbon Process, Economic and Monetary Union, Regional
Policy and the Single Market. A further conference will be held
in March 2005.
| 
