The President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, conveyed this Tuesday to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, that the recent appointment of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Raffaele Fitto, as the European Union's special envoy for Cyprus marks a "particularly significant moment" in the island's reunification process.
The Cypriot leader held a meeting in Paris with the head of the Community Executive, taking advantage of the events and parades of July 14th for the French national holiday. In the meeting, they discussed the evolution of the Cypriot conflict and "the full integration of Cyprus into the Schengen area," after Christodoulides defended "the successful fulfillment of all technical preparations" by Nicosia to join the free movement area.
After the appointment was made public this Monday, the President of Cyprus emphasized that the new EU envoy for the island will allow "actively contributing" to Cyprus's reunification efforts "in line with UN Security Council resolutions and EU law, values, and principles."
Christodoulides further highlighted that this is "a strong signal of the EU's commitment to the reunification of Cyprus. I look forward to working closely with Vice-President Fitto," in a message in which he valued the decision adopted by Brussels.
For her part, Von der Leyen stressed after the meeting with the Cypriot leader that the European Union "is willing to do everything possible to support the UN's efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue," insisting that the solution to the conflict must be reached under the umbrella of the United Nations and "in accordance with EU principles, values, and legislation."
"There is real momentum to move forward. The EU is fully committed," remarked the President of the Commission, alluding to the recent appointment of a European special representative to accompany the process. Brussels specified that Fitto will work in coordination with the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General, María Ángela Holguín, with the aim of facilitating the resumption of talks for the reunification of the island.
This step is taken at a time when Holguín is developing a new proposal, according to the British newspaper "The Independent", which departs from the federal scheme promoted so far by the United Nations. The approach explores a model with two entities on equal footing and limited shared competencies, which would also include the return of certain territories by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the deployment of a small NATO contingent as a guarantor of the future agreement.