GCC Press Review 6 Sep 2019

Front Page Headlines

Politis

They lost the forest for the trees

Jane Holl Lute’s to and fro continues for a sixth day. Tactical moves and games with words delay an agreement on the Terms of Reference. Antonio Guterres’ special envoy insists on substance and clarity. 

Phileleftheros

New effort to overcome the obstacles

Lute continues with meetings also today to overcome the snag in the procedure for the Terms of Reference. Turkey is a negative factor.

  • The ‘Conqueror’ (Fatih drillship) starts a second drilling – It moved yesterday from the target ‘Alanya 1’ to ‘Alanya 2’. Difficulties in the first drilling, they moved closer, 75 kilometres west of Peyia.
  • Erdogan wants to get a third drillship
  • Light and flavoured halloumi will not be available in the market anymore (because they are considered as non-standard)

Haravgi

Schools are not ready for the first bell

Today is the first day back to school for the pupils of secondary and technical education with teachers pointing out the unpreparedness, especially when it comes to educational policies. The first dynamic rally is taking place on Monday by the Vergina high school’s parents association.

  • A liturgy will take place at the church of Lysi after 45 years
  • Lute sees the two leaders for the sixth day

Cyprus Mail

‘Lute’s efforts could yet fail’

The foreign minister is not ‘as optimistic’ as he was at start of week.

Alithia

Despite the smiles… back and forth without any light yet (at the end of the tunnel)

New meetings this morning of the special envoy with the two leaders. Despite the small problem encountered, both Lute and the two sides do not give up on the effort, which shows they believe that it could yield results. Government Spokesman: We set out to set the Terms of Reference and this is where we plan on getting to.

  • Erdogan in frenzy – Extreme statements.
  • Arrival of more American companies – US (Ambassador) on Cypriot EEZ.

Main News

Determination but also pessimism from GC side on ToR

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

While UN special envoy Jane Holl Lute continues consultations with the two leaders on the Terms of Reference (ToR) after some bumps along the way, the government states determination to achieve the goal of reaching an agreement with the TC side on the ToR, the papers report.

Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides, however, warned of possible failure of the ongoing procedure, arguing he is not as optimistic about the outcome as he was earlier in the week.

Cyprus Mail reports that following Thursday’s meetings, Christodoulides said that he could not rule out the possibility that Lute’s efforts for an agreement could fail, noting that all possibilities are open. “On Monday, I was more optimistic than I am today,” he said.

According to the dailies, the minister refuted a report in Kibris Postasi, that negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis, who had met with Lute on Wednesday afternoon, had presented a “very different and radical approach” to the current draft of the ToR that is under discussion.

He said the report aimed at causing problems to the effort and that the GC side has been submitting suggestions and opinions as part of the procedure but nothing radical.

Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou, avoiding giving more information on the procedure, said that the current setback was a small complication.

“We set out to agree on the ToR and that is where we are getting at,” he said.

Phileleftheros reports that while it had been agreed during the leaders’ meeting last August that the procedure on the ToR would be a standard one, TC leader Mustafa Akinci’s actions during the past few days have changed the situation.

The arrival next Monday of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusolglu seems to affect the actions of the TC side with Akinci being reluctant in reaching an agreement on the ToR that would not satisfy Ankara.

One of the issues that have arisen due to Ankara’s intervention is the Turkish side’s attempt to require the Terms of Reference to be more extensive and not just headings, in an effort to record her own interpretation of issues such as political equality and effective participation. The GC side considers that these issues and many others are covered by the 2014 Joint Declaration, the UN Conventions and the Guterres Framework, Phileleftheros reports.

Alithia reports that the GC side hints that the stumbling blocks are due to Ankara’s intervention while the Turkish side hints that it is the GCs’ insistence on ending illegal actions in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and Varosha.


Turkish drilling off Paphos moves to second target

Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Energy, Regional/International Relations

OVERVIEW

The papers report on a number of energy-related issues on Friday.

According to Phileleftheros, the Turkish drillship Fatih, which is searching for gas off Paphos, moved on to a second target, Alanya 2, on Thursday which is around 3.5 nautical miles from Alanya 1, the target the drill rig had been operating in since last May.

The second drill is expected to last until November 1.

 The Fatih is now 45 nautical miles (75km) west of Peyia, the daily reported.

According to Phileleftheros, Turkey’s second drillship, the Yavuz, after overcoming some technical problems, continues its illegal activities south of the cape of Apostolos Andreas and within the continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus.

Haravgi, Cyprus Mail, Phileleftheros and Politis report that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced they may buy a third drillship.

In the meantime, US Ambassador to Cyprus Judith Garber said her country was concerned about the unlawful activities of the Yavuz drillship.

According to Alithia and Cyprus Mail, Garber said during her speech at a business dinner of the American Chamber of Commerce in Nicosia on Wednesday evening that “this provocative and unlawful step raises tensions in the region.”

She also said the US is confident that natural resources can contribute to the overall economic well-being of Cyprus and thus be a positive force for achieving a solution to the Cyprus problem.

She added that US national security, Cyprus’ national security and security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean are inextricably linked, while reiterating the US position that it recognises the right of the Republic of Cyprus to develop resources in its EEZ.

“We also believe these resources should be equitably shared between the GC and TC communities,” she said.

She expressed hope that such resources promote prosperity in the entire Eastern Mediterranean region and help to diversify Europe’s energy supply.

Garber said they were proud that two American companies – ExxonMobil and Noble Energy – are participating in this game-changing development and expressed the belief that other US companies in the energy sector will join them, “as Cyprus transitions from discovery of energy resources to the hard task of bringing those resources to market.”

She also referred to the participation of US Secretary Mike Pompeo in the trilateral meeting in March in Jerusalem with Anastasiades, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and then Greek Prime Minister Tsipras. “We will continue to look for opportunities to join such meetings to lend our support as they advance security and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean region,” the ambassador said.

KEY ACTORS
Garber (US)
>>
The US is concerned about the provocative & unlawful activities of the Yavuz that raise tensions in the region.
>>  US & Cyprus’ national security as well as the security and stability in the East Med are inextricably linked.
>> The US recognises the right of the RoC to develop resources in its EEZ. These resources could be a positive force for achieving a solution to the Cyprob and they should be equitably shared between GCs & TCs.
>> US is open to opportunities to participate in regional cooperation since they advance security & prosperity in the East Med.


‘Additional EU funding a great boost for preservation of monuments’

Alithia, Phileleftheros, Politis
CBMs, EU Matters, Human Rights

OVERVIEW

The papers report that the GC co-chair of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, Takis Hadjidemetriou, welcomed the move by the six Cypriot MEPs to push for more EU funding in support of the work of the committee.

The MEPs had tabled an amendment to the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, which was approved, for increasing by €3m the funding of the EU budget for 2020 to be given in support of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage and the Committee on Missing Persons.

Hadjidemetriou said the MEPs’ contribution was enormous since the extra €1m was a significant boost and a necessary tool for the Cultural Heritage Committee. He noted that as time passes, the responsibilities and obligations of the Committee increase as more and more monuments collapse.

“We find ourselves in the difficult position of interrupting other projects to deal with emergencies,” he said, according to the papers.

The amendment will be tabled to the Committee on Budgets and is expected to be approved by the EP plenary at the end of the month.

Hadjidemetriou expressed the conviction that the EP plenary will show understanding because the EU is aware of the work of the Committee.


Applications against halloumi dropped

Phileleftheros
Economy, EU Matters

OVERVIEW

Phileleftheros reports that the three applications challenging the Republic of Cyprus’ efforts to register halloumi in the EU that had been filed by businesses were withdrawn earlier in the week.

The businesses agreed to withdraw their applications following a meeting at the Presidential Palace under President Nicos Anastasiades.

Due to the withdrawal of the applications the danger of halloumi becoming a generic product with the possibility of its production anywhere in the world has now disappeared, the daily reported.

The paper said that even in the Brexit agreement there is a provision for the conversion of the EU protection of halloumi to an equivalent UK trademark.

It added that the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and a halloumi producing company in the UK have expressed however intention to object the registration of halloumi with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO).

At the meeting at the Presidential Palace cheese producers were asked to blindly follow the halloumi production specifications and were warned that authorities will be very strict in cases where products such as light or flavoured halloumi (chili, basil etc) are found in the local market or sent for exports.

Some producers have already made arrangements to change the packages of these products by renaming them from ‘light halloumi’ to ‘light Cypriot cheese’.

A transition period was given until these products that are now in shops are sold, the paper reported.


Lysi church to operate after 45 years

Haravgi
Human Rights

OVERVIEW

A liturgy will be carried out on Sunday at the church of Panayia in the occupied community of Lysi for the first time in 45 years, the paper reported.

The announcement was made on Thursday night by Mayor of Lysi, Andreas Kaouris during an event organised by Lysi refugees.

He said he had been informed by the UN that it will be possible for a liturgy to take place on Sunday at the church in question and that members of the public will be able to attend.

Kaouris said there have been efforts for years to get permission to have a liturgy at the church and that it was made possible with the help also of “our TC compatriots.”

The mayor thanked everyone who helped make this possible and invited all Lysi refugees to attend, the paper reports.


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