CYPRUS: The European Commissioner responsible for enlargement, Mr Günther Verhügen, has accused the Greek Cypriot government of cheating the European Union by failing to support a plan to reunify Cyprus.
Mr Verhügen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that he now saw little chance that the Greek part of Cyprus would support the plan in a referendum on Saturday, making it impossible for a united Cyprus to join the EU on May 1st.
"I personally feel that I have been cheated by the government of the Republic of Cyprus. For months on end I have done everything I could in good faith to make it possible for the Greek Cypriot side to accept this plan on the understanding that this is what they intended to do. Now things look very different."
The Greek Cypriot government has called for a rejection of the plan and the state-run television network has banned Mr Verhügen and other EU officials from the airwaves before the referendum.
"The very least we can expect is a fair and balanced information campaign about the objectives and contents of this plan. Never before in the history of the European Commission has a member of the European Commission been accused of interfering in the internal affairs of a member state," Mr Verhügen said.
The President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, criticised the decision to ban Mr Verhügen. The External Affairs Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, echoed his colleague's accusation that the Greek Cypriots had negotiated in bad faith.
"One can't ignore the fact that there is that sense that we have been cheated," Mr Patten said.
Efforts by Britain to win UN Security Council support for the plan came to nothing yesterday. Britain wanted support for a five-page draft resolution that sought to reassure both sides that the plan would be implemented in full. But 10 of the 15 Council members felt the resolution was being rushed.
The plan had come in for tough criticism from the Greek Cypriot president, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, partly on the grounds that it would allow thousands of Turkish troops to remain in the northern part of the island. The Greek Cypriots also complain that the plan limits the right of Greek Cypriot refugees to return to the north, while allowing tens of thousands of Turkish settlers introduced to the occupied north since the 1974 Turkish invasion to remain.
Mr Verhügen said yesterday, however, that the plan represented a fair deal for both sides and that no better alternative was available.
"No better plan can ever land on the table. You cannot complain about the number of Turkish soldiers still on the island because anyone who says no to this will make sure that 30,000 Turkish soldiers stay on the island forever," he said.