from BBC on EU enlargement
EU pledges aid for Turkish Cyprus
- The EU has pledged to release almost 260m euros (£170m) to Turkish Cypriots, following their approval of a UN plan to reunify the island.
- The money is aimed at ending the economic isolation of Northern Cyprus after years of sanctions.
- Turkish Cypriot PM Mehmet Ali Talat has meanwhile formally asked the EU to freeze Greek Cypriot membership.
Mehmet Ali Talat
"In order not to reward the Greek Cypriots, we asked that EU laws not be applied to the south until there is a solution. [...] In other words ... membership should be frozen."
- Mr Talat was due in Brussels on Monday for talks with enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen, who has already bitterly criticised the Greek Cypriot handling of the peace process. Mr Verheugen said the EU would work with the Turkish Cypriot authorities to boost the economy but this did not mean that the north would be recognised as a separate state.
