'Normaliseer handel met Noordelijk Cyprus (en)

EU trade with northern Cyprus should be governed directly by EU single market and customs union rules, and not by the EU's common commercial policy, as this would - wrongly - imply that it is not part of the EU, said the Legal Affairs Committee on Monday. The application of these rules to northern Cyprus was "temporarily suspended" when Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, because it was beyond the effective control of the Cypriot government.

Legal Affairs Committee MEPs urge the Commission to withdraw the suspension, which would result in the EU rules on internal market, customs union and free movement of goods becoming directly applicable to northern Cyprus. However, this withdrawal would require the unanimous assent of the EU Council of Ministers.

Cyprus's north-south divide is not an EU external border

The Legal Affairs Committee shared the opinion of the Parliament's legal service that the territory of Cyprus is fully part of EU customs territory. MEPs reiterated that the Union should not seek to regulate its internal arrangements for the movement of goods among Member States on the basis of the common commercial policy, as proposed in 2004 by the Commission, because this would "imply that de facto the line separating the territory of Cyprus would be tantamount to an external border of the Union".

"We need to keep things simple. It is difficult to draft a regulation on the basis of external action and trade policy because Cyprus as a whole is already a member of the EU", commented rapporteur Kurt Lechner i (EPP, DE), adding "let's see the case as it is and not use other examples which do not fit". MEPs approved the committee opinion with 18 votes in favour, 5 against and one abstention.

End the "temporary suspension"

When the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, no exceptions from EU customs policy were agreed. However its application to northern Cyprus was temporarily suspended, since Nicosia does not exercise effective control over these areas.

MEPs urge the Commission to withdraw partially the suspension, which would result in the EU rules on internal market, customs union and free movement of goods becoming directly applicable to northern Cyprus. This measure would require a new proposal, within a new legal framework (Article 1 (2) of Protocol n° 10), which would require unanimity in the Council.

Next steps

The Legal Affairs Committee opinion will be now forwarded to the International Trade Committee, as the lead committee. The latter will draft a report on whether the legal basis of the Commission's proposal should be changed. This report will then be put to a plenary vote.