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The Turkish Parliament’s European Union Harmonization Commission is working to make the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) more visible within the European Union and on international platforms, the commission’s chairman said.
Commission Chair Burhan Kayaturk said members carried out one of their most comprehensive overseas visits in the TRNC, holding meetings at the levels of the Foreign Ministry, Parliament, Prime Ministry and Presidency.
He noted that 22 of the commission’s 27 members took part, describing it as possibly the largest foreign visit the commission has undertaken.
Kayaturk said the delegation also received briefings from Türkiye’s Ambassador to Nicosia, Ali Murat Basceri, on the Cyprus issue as well as the political life, struggles and daily realities of the Turkish Cypriot people.
Kayaturk said the goal is to listen to the TRNC and, based on information gathered during the visit, work to make it more visible and influential at the EU and other international platforms.
He added that the commission aims to counter what he described as efforts by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration to marginalize the TRNC within the EU.
Kayaturk criticized the European Union’s decision to admit the Greek Cypriot administration in 2004, recalling that Turkish Cypriots supported the Annan Plan in a 2003 referendum while Greek Cypriots rejected it.
He said the subsequent EU membership of the Greek Cypriot side, recognized as representing the entire island, was a “wrong decision.”
He added that the move has created serious obstacles for both Türkiye-EU relations and the economic and political development of the TRNC.
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