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The European Commission urged Turkey on Wednesday to normalize relations with the Republic of Cyprus and renew its support for United Nations-led reunification talks, stepping up pressure on Ankara days before the island’s two leaders are due to meet with a U.N. envoy.
In its annual report on Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, the Commission said Ankara still refuses to recognize the Republic of Cyprus and called on it to avoid unilateral actions that could raise tensions and make it harder to restart negotiations. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry rejected the findings, accusing Brussels of siding with Greece and the Greek Cypriot side and disregarding the interests of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots.
The report also pointed to two disputes playing out at sea. It said Turkey continues to obstruct surveys for the Great Sea Interconnector, a proposed electricity cable between Cyprus and Greece. Separately, it said Ankara signed a deal with Turkish Cypriot authorities in July for an undersea gas pipeline to the north without the consent of the Republic of Cyprus.
For households watching their electricity bills, the cable is where the dispute hits closest to home. The nearly 900-kilometer link to Crete would give Cyprus access to the wider European grid, allowing it to import electricity when local supply is tight and export power when it has a surplus. The EU sees the link as a way to improve reliability and give Cyprus access to more competitive wholesale prices. What households ultimately pay would depend in part on the price of imported power and how the cable’s costs are recovered.
The next diplomatic test comes Monday, when U.N. envoy María Ángela Holguín is due to meet President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman together. New crossing points are among the issues on the table, offering a concrete way for the two sides to show progress while efforts to restart broader settlement talks continue.
