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Turkey Receives Reminder of Ultimatum

At a summit planned for mid-December EU government leaders will decide whether Turkey membership talks will continue. Although a main part of this decision will already be made as early as December 6 by the EU`s Executive Commission. Finland`s Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, who is currently head of the EU by rotation, said that if Turkey was interested in joining the EU it must comply with the commitments it made concerning Cyprus.

The island of Cyprus has been split into two counties since 1974, a Turkish Cypriot in the north and a Greek Cypriot in the south. The island was torn in two when Turkey invaded after an attempted coup took place trying to unite the island with Greece. The Turkish Cypriot state in the north is only recognized by Turkey that refuses to recognize the government in the south. Southern Cyprus has been a member of the EU since 2004 and has been a strain on Turkey`s EU membership talks since they first begun in 2005.

In order to find a compromise the Finnish government has devised a plan in which Turkey would open its ports to traffic from Southern Cyprus, while the EU would allow northern Cyprus vessels traveling from the Famagusta seaport free trade with the EU as long as the Turkish side transfers control of the abandoned town of Varosha, which lays nearby. Turkish Justice Minister, Cemil Cicek said that "The side that needs to take a step on this problem is not the Turkish side, it`s not Turkey. The isolation of the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) has to be lifted."