The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted the Cyprus Report prepared by Hungarian deputy Matyas Eösi. The report called on parties to start negotiations to settle the Cyprus issue on the basis of the Annan Plan. Moreover, the report appreciated the “broad-minded and pragmatic” stance of the Turkish government about the solution of the issue. On the other hand, the Parliamentary Assembly called on Turkey to pull back a part of her troops from the island ahead of the settlement of the issue as a display of good will.
The report warned the Greek side that they should avoid making statements that would constitute a threat for Turkish Cypriots. Moreover, it called on Greek Cyprus, which will become an EU member on May 1, to avoid preventing Turkey’s membership to EU after this date.
The report of the Parliamentary Assembly stated that EU should refrain from establishing a link between the settlement of the Cyprus issue and Turkey’s membership to the Union. Moreover, it said that EU should give more explicit messages to Turkey about her membership prospects in a way to facilitate the solution process in Cyprus. The report is regarded as the most positive report of the Parliamentary Assembly about Turkey.
