DIKO and Socialists and Democrats MEP Costas Mavrides will abstain from vote on the European Parliament report on Turkey.
Speaking on Tuesday to Cypriot journalists in Strasbourg, Mavrides pointed out that the EP report on Turkey includes several correct references but also some ‘seriously wrong ones’, as he said. The positive references include – among others – the call for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus, the reference to the presence of Turkish settlers in the Turkish-occupied areas of the island and the call for respect for the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, as he said.
Among the negative points of the report, the DIKO MEP noted – among others – that the report attributes a strategic role to Turkey in areas such as the defence and security of Europe, praises Turkey’s role in the prevalence of the jihadist regime in Syria and calls for the resumption of negotiations to upgrade the EU-Turkey Customs Union, without Turkey first fulfilling its legal obligations to the EU concerning Cyprus emanating from the existing Customs Union Agreement.
Regarding the Cyprus issue, Mavrides stated that amendments that he had submitted, for the EU acquis to be taken into account in the event of a Cyprus settlement, were ‘deliberately’ deleted from the report. He added that the report includes a commitment to convergence in the negotiations on the Cyprus issue, which, he said, provide – among other things – that in Greek Cypriot properties in the Turkish-occupied territories the illegal user and not the legal owner will have the first say.
For the above reasons, Costas Mavrides explained that he will abstain from the vote on the report, while expressing the belief that the report will be easily voted in favour.
At the same time, he noted that in the vote on the report in the Foreign Affairs Committee, various MEPs from Cyprus and Greece voted in favour of the report or abstained, subsequently praising the report and its rapporteur. He pointed out that he was ‘astonished’ by their stance, adding that he made a public appeal to them to reassess their stance during the final vote in the Plenary of the European Parliament.
At the same time, Costas Mavrides noted that, in view of the debate in the EP Plenary on the protection of children from the risks posed by social media, he proposed a horizontal ban on access to social media by young people up to 15-16 years of age. He also proposed that social media be used only in a controlled environment, such as at school. He also referred to an expert report requested by the EP, which records the negative effects of the use of social media by young people and calls for measures to be taken by the European Commission.
Finally, Mavrides, as the EP’s negotiator for the S and D on Montenegro’s accession to the EU, expressed the belief that Montenegro will become the 28th member of the EU in 2028.