EU pledges €260m in aid to Turkish Cypriots

THE EU have pledged €260 million in aid to Turkish Cypriots who saw their chance membership of the bloc evaporate when Greek Cypriots rejected reunification.

EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, expressed dismay with Greek Cypriot politicians for urging their voters to vote against the reunification plan, which was drafted by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Turkish Cypriots approved the plan at the weekend, but the split outcome of the parallel referendums means Cyprus will remain divided.

Only Greek Cypriots whose government is the only one the international community recognises will join the EU next Saturday, along with nine other nations.

However, the Turkish Cypriot premier urged the EU to temporarily suspend Cyprus' EU membership.

Mehmet Ali Talat he had written to Taoiseach Minister Bertie Ahern asking that EU laws not apply to the Greek Cypriot south until the island is reunified.

Mr Talat blamed the Greek Cypriot side for torpedoing the referendum vote and sinking EU hopes for a united Cyprus to join the European body.

"Therefore in order not to reward the Greek Cypriots, we asked that EU laws not be applied to the south until there is a solution and the island enters the EU as a whole," he said.

"In other words ... membership should be frozen."

In a draft statement, the EU foreign ministers said they will promote "the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community" to reward it for expressing a "clear desire for a future within the European Union".

They said they "regretted that the accession to the EU of a united Cyprus will not now be possible" and "expressed the hope the people of a united Cyprus will soon achieve their shared destiny as citizens of a united Cyprus in the European Union."

The foreign ministers told the European Commission to identify projects in Turkish Cyprus to benefit from €260m in aid.

There was no talk of staging another vote on Cyprus, where Turkey has maintained tens of thousands of troops after a 1974 coup by supporters of union with Greece.