Mobile network unification in Cyprus has encountered legal obstacles and the issue has been referred back to the leaders of the island’s two communities, a source with knowledge of the subject has told the Cyprus News Agency.

The bicommunal Technical Committee on Entrepreneurship/ Economic and Trade Issues discussed the issue during a meeting last week and as CNA learns, the matter is being put before the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci for further consideration.

The unification of mobile services in the southern government controlled areas of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as in the northern Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus, was among the confidence building measures the two leaders agreed on last May, following the resumption of settlement talks.

Concerning the legal hiatus, the same source told CNA that Republic of Cyprus legislation, which has been harmonized with EU legislation, forbids cooperation with non-regulated entities, such as mobile operators in Turkish-occupied Cyprus.

Companies operating in the government controlled areas of the island are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Electronic Communications.

“This is not a matter of the Technical Committee anymore” the source has stated, noting that it requires another kind of solution. The Technical Committee is not expected to discuss the issue further, under the given circumstances.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-led talks, aiming to reunite the island under a federal roof, resumed last May.