Cyprus is a sovereign state and a full member of the European Union and the European Commission totally respects the decision taken about Cyprus assuming the EU Presidency the second half of 2012, European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule has said Tuesday.

Addressing the 67th Meeting of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee in Brussels, Fule said that both the EU and the UN recognize only the Republic of Cyprus, noting that Turkey must re -establish relations with all member states.
He also underlined that this is set as a prerequisite for its accession to the EU.

Commissioner Fule also referred to the regulation on direct trade of the EU, saying that it has yet to be implemented.

The regulation on direct trade of the EU with those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of Cyprus does not exercise effective control, was approved by the European Commission in April 2004 but has yet to be implemented because of strong objections from the Republic of Cyprus and other member states