Pavlos Xanthoulis
In his statements to the Turkish-Cypriot newspaper "Yeni Düzen," as officially reported by the Cyprus News Agency, President Christodoulides stated: "I have a new idea for the European Union to assume a leadership role in the negotiations. I want to clarify this issue. I'm not saying that the EU should replace the United Nations. There is no such thing."
According to the President's "new idea," as he explained it, the EU will have a "leadership role" but will not take the place of the United Nations, which has always "led" the process in Cyprus or any effort to activate such a process. Therefore, we will have a "leadership role" attributed by President Christodoulides to the EU within the framework of his "new idea." And we will also have a "leadership role" traditionally attributed to the United Nations, which leads any potential settlement effort in Cyprus.
If someone refers to a dictionary, it becomes evident that the exercise of "leadership role" is performed by the one who "leads," having the primary role in a process. So, how can we have two entities leading in Cyprus, and how can the EU exercise a "leadership role" in Cyprus without displacing the United Nations, which historically holds this "leadership role"? Does President Christodoulides desire the EU and the UN to exercise "rotating leadership," rehearsing what is attempted to be imposed on Cyprus within the framework of "rotating presidency"?
I speculate that this is not the case, although there are many questions and even greater confusion, which imply a contradiction in the presidential speech, all within just three lines. This contradiction, according to information from "K," has also been conveyed to EU circles, who were informed "in no time" about the "leadership role" secured according to President Christodoulides' "new idea." This "leadership role" was translated and communicated by a foreign diplomat as the "leading role" of the EU in Cyprus, with the remark that this is what the President of the Republic seeks "in reality."
I cannot know what our president truly thinks. However, what I am certain of is that neither in Greek nor in English can the concept of exercising "leadership" in a state or a process be attributed to many individuals unless it is collective. And since the issue of collective leadership does not arise in the case of Cyprus, we should, at the very least, have clarity of speech. If and when, of course, we desire to maintain the process within the framework of the UN's Security Council and utilize the resolutions as well as the agreed framework. Something that I want to believe we strive for.
Therefore, either this government needs to take things seriously and know what it is saying when referring to the involvement of the EU, which cannot have a "leadership role" but only a subsidiary, supportive role towards the United Nations. Or it needs to acquire dictionaries to distinguish between the concepts before making any statements. Because unfortunately, any unfortunate messages, such as those regarding the assumption of a "leadership role" by the EU in Cyprus, are swiftly conveyed through summary procedures, interpretations, and comments, exposing the state. And they provide arguments to the Turkish side and circles that support it, within the EU and within the United Nations Secretariat, who claim that the Greek Cypriot side is the one attempting to undermine the framework of the Cyprus solution.
A similar level of seriousness is required in managing the issue of the Regulation for the Green Line, where the positions of the Customs Authorities give the impression of a de facto state doing as it pleases without considering the legal framework established under Regulation 866. As part of the European acquis, this framework supersedes any internal legislation, including the Cypriot Constitution. Unless the Customs Authority has also acquired a "leadership role" and can substitute for an entire state and its leadership.
Note: As reported by "K," the Commission is allegedly "obliged" to record the erroneous position of the Cypriot Customs Authorities on the fuel/fine issue in its upcoming report on the Green Line Regulation. Cheers!
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
