Luc Van den Brande, the President of the Committee of the Regions’ CIVEX Commission for citizenship, governance, institutional and external affairs, expressed his concern and his opposition over Turkey’s threats to freeze its relations with the EU throughout the Cyprus EU Presidency, in the second term of 2012.

According to an announcement by the Cyprus delegation to the Committee of the Regions, Van den Brande also said he saw no reason for the existence of Turkish troops on the island of Cyprus.

Referring to the transfer of settlers from Anatolia to the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus, the CIVEX President noted that this is a real and important problem, although, as he said, some insist to overlook it.

Van den Brande also said that the negotiating chapters with Turkey that nave not yet opened should remain closed, while he added that the EU should continue to work on chapters that are open.

The CIVEX session took place on October 18, in Brussels, following a session in the Cyprus capital, Nicosia, where the members of the Committee had the chance to experience the situation in the occupied city of Famagusta and in Cyprus in general.

Cyprus was represented during the CIVEX session by Nicosia Municipal Council Member Eleni Loukaidou.

The country has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Turkey does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Premier Erdogan threatened to freeze his country’s EU accession talks, if Cyprus assumes the Presidency of the EU Council, during the second term of 2012, prior to a Cyprus solution.