The Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders agreed, on 8 July 2006, that a 'comprehensive settlement' on the decades long division of Cyprus "is both desirable and possible, and should not be further delayed". The two communities are set to launch, by the end of July 2006, new confidence building measures consisting of technical committees on issues that affect the day-to-day life of people. In parallel, longer term political issues will be discussed separately.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has welcomed the news saying that "the fact that the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities met three times in one week is an encouraging signal. The Commission remains fully committed to supporting the resumption of such talks as soon as possible".
Recently, both the Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the Finnish Foreign Affairs Minister, Erkki Tuomioja have warned Turkey over Cyprus, saying that lack of progress could lead to serious problems in its accession talks process later in 2006. The EU says Ankara needs to comply with its EU accession conditions over Cyprus and is urging Turkey to implement the customs union protocol obliging Turkey to open its ports and airports to ships and airplanes from Greek Cyprus.
