Britain has acted in an unbalanced way towards Turkish Cypriots since the start of its process to leave the European Union, North Cyprus Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay has said. During an exclusive interview with T-VINE marking the 15th anniversary of historic referendums in Cyprus which saw Turkish Cypriots vote in favour of the “Annan Plan” […]
In the third and final part of a series of stories marking the 15th anniversary of the Annan Plan referendums in Cyprus, Eltan Halil examines the role of the European Union and the consequences of its decision to admit a divided island. The European Union has made the prospects of a solution in Cyprus more […]
Greece has failed to implement a human rights ruling against the closure of Turkish associations, 10 years after it was handed down. The country was slammed by the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe’s statutory decision-making body, over a case relating to the “violations of the right to freedom of association”as set out in […]
Tests conducted by North Cyprus’ Department of Agriculture between 27 April and 3 May 2018 found the levels of pesticides used on most imported and home-grown produce, such as peppers, strawberries and tomatoes, to be within legally acceptable levels. However, 6% of the produce failed their toxicity tests. A list issued by the Department […]
MEPs backed the kebab industry on Wednesday after the European Parliament voted against banning phosphates required to keep döner meat juicy and full of flavour. The vote came after the European Commission (EC) put forward a proposal to authorise the use of the natural additives in frozen “vertical meat spits” in order to bring […]
One of the European Union’s major institutions has called for a reorientation of its relationship with Turkey. The European Parliament wants the EU’s accession talks with the candidate country to be suspended if Ankara implements plans to expand President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s powers. These new powers, voted in after a controversial referendum in April, […]
After a shocking loss of their parliamentary majority for the Conservative Party, the prospect of the United Kingdom pursuing a Hard Brexit from the European Union where Britain would pull out of the Single Market appears fleeting. The ever more likely impending Soft Brexit may lighten the load for future British negotiators trying to […]
On Tuesday, 11 April, I visited Brussels to interview the European Parliament Rapporteur for Turkey Kati Piri MEP. Ms Piri is a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands and part of the parliamentary Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. As the Turkey Rapporteur, she is the parliament’s closest follower of […]
Turkey’s domestic battle against multiple terrorist groups is being thwarted by its Western allies. Since 2007, Ankara has secured the extradition of just 12 of a possible 448 terror suspects currently residing in Europe. According to a report in Turkish daily Sözcü, most of those wanted by Turkey are accused of being members of the […]
Dear T-VINE, President Mustafa Akinci of North Cyprus was elected to office in April 2015 with a popular 60.5 per cent of the vote and he immediately took on a new mission to seek reconciliation between the two main communities of Cyprus — Greek and Turkish. Sadly, recent talks between him and his Greek Cypriot counterpart […]
