The European Commission on Wednesday designated Johannes Hahn as the new special envoy to unlock the decades-old problem of Cypriot reunification.
Hahn, a former European commissioner from Austria, will report to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He will contribute to the settlement process in close cooperation with the United Nations secretary-general’s personal envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar.
Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south since Turkey’s forces invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek-backed coup. Ankara does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member country that is otherwise recognized internationally as the sole sovereign authority over the whole island. The Turkish Cypriot north is recognized only by Ankara.
Hahn’s appointment “underlines the Commission’s commitment to the reunification of Cyprus, with the aim of ensuring a functional and viable comprehensive settlement in accordance with the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and in line with the principles, values and legislation of the EU,” the Commission’s statement said.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides welcomed Hahn’s designation, noting that it constitutes “tangible proof that the EU stands firmly and resolutely with Cyprus and its people.”
Multiple attempts to find a compromise settlement over the years have failed, most recently in 2017 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and formal talks have not resumed since then. This is the longest period that has passed without official dialogue.
An informal meeting was convened by the U.N. secretary-general in Geneva in March and another one is scheduled at the end of July.
Hahn spent 14 years as a European commissioner between 2010 and last year, overseeing first regional policy, then European neighborhood policy and enlargement talks, and finally budget and administration. He is a member of Austria’s center-right People’s Party, which belongs to the conservative European People’s Party, the same European grouping as Christodoulides.
The post Brussels announces former EU commissioner as envoy for Cyprus problem appeared first on Politico.
