Greek PM invites Erdogan to Athens

PanARMENIAN.Net - Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is going to invite his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Athens to discuss a number of issues, specifically, Turkey's EU bid and the Cyprus problem.



"We have not decided on the date yet. Our diplomatic service will deal with it," Mr. Papandreou said after a meeting with Cypriot President Demetris Christofias.



"We are backing the efforts for a solution built upon the EU resolutions and values. A solution capable of cementing the operational of the Cypriot state and its effective participation in the EU. A solution that will put an end to Turkey's military occupation," Mr. Papandreou said.



The European Union (EU) is the successor of the European Economic Community (EEC) for whose associate membership Ankara applied in 1959. In September 1963, the Ankara agreement was signed to include Turkey to customs union and then to full EEC membership. In the same year the first financial protocol was signed, followed by the additional protocol and the second financial protocol in November 1970. 



In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus. The military coup d`etat that took place on 12th September 1980 led to a turmoil in the relationship between Turkey and the community. After a long gap of 6 years, the Turkey-EEC association council meeting revived the association process and just after one year the country applied for full EEC membership. In 1989, the commission endorsed Turkey`s eligibility as a member and the agreement came into force on January 1st 1996. 



However, in 1997 the candidate status to Turkey was declined which was reversed in the EU Helsinki council in December 1999. In the year 2001 the EU council of ministers adopted the EU Turkey Accession partnership whereas the Turkish Government and parliament accommodated over 30 amendments to meet the Copenhagen political criteria for EU membership. 



In 2002 also, the Turkish parliament made reforms to meet the EU`s human rights criteria. In the same year the Copenhagen European council (EC) decided that if Turkey could fulfill the criteria then in 2004 the EU would open accession negotiations with Turkey. Meanwhile, the EU leaders decided to extend their cooperation on the EC -Turkey customs union to provide the enhanced pre-accession financial assistance. 



Turkey began EU accession talks in 2005 and has so far opened 12 out of 35 negotiating chapters. Its military occupation of northern Cyprus, an EU member, has so far proved the main stumbling block to progress. But the EU commission is also concerned about Turkey's respect for human rights, while Germany and France are opposed to Turkish EU entry on broader political grounds.



Cyprus is a small island in the eastern part of the Mediterranean sea with 660,000 inhabitants. Turkey invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974. As an explanation to this brutal act, Turkey offered the restoration of the constitutional structure of the Republic of Cyprus that was damaged by a coup d' etat, and the protection of an 18% Turkish-Cypriot minority on the island. The international community strongly condemned the military invasion and rejected Turkey's explanations. In Resolution 353 that was adopted on the day of the invasion, the United Nations (UN) Security Council "equally concerned about the necessity to restore the constitutional structure of the Republic of Cyprus" calls upon all States to "respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus" and demands "an immediate end to foreign military intervention in the Republic of Cyprus". Turkey not only ignored the international community but launched a second offensive in August, 1974 and managed to seize more than one third of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus. Currently, 22 years later, 30,000 Turkish troops are stationed on the occupied part of the island making it "one of the most highly militarized areas in the world", according to the June 1994 report of the UN Secretary General to the Security Council. The island is thus still divided, the refugees still away from their homes, the whereabouts of the missing still unknown. The Turkish-Cypriots are also victims of this invasion and imposed separation. More than 110,000 Turkish settlers have been transported to the occupied areas, in an attempt to change the demographic character of the island. These settlers, while Turks, they are completely different culturally from the Turkish-Cypriots whose culture is very similar to their Greek counterparts. The Turkish-Cypriots are becoming a minority in the occupied areas and are migrating to other western countries. On the other hand their leaders, under Turkey's direction, continue to bring the negotiations in the UN to a deadlock.