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This section is inspired by Mrs Blair having taken on
 defending the Linda Orams case
 

UPDATED: 09:43, December 20, 2005

Cyprus angry over Cherie Blair's provocative action
 

A Cypriot official on Monday expressed discontent over the decision of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie Blair to defend at court a British couple charged with exploiting Greek Cypriot property in the Turkish controlled areas of the divided island.

The complaint was conveyed by Cyprus Foreign Ministry's Permanent Secretary Sotos Zackheos to Britain's Charge d' Affaires to Nicosia Robert Fenn.

The Cypriot official said that Mrs Blair's action is provocative to the feelings of the Greek Cypriot refugees and the Cypriots living in Britain.

Zackheos stressed that this action "opposes recent efforts by both governments to restore and improve their bilateral relations".

Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said that Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos will raise the issue in the framework of the Cyprus-Britain structured dialogue.

He reiterated that this action is deemed by the government as provocative towards the feelings of the Greek Cypriot displaced persons, noting that "it is not a completely personal issue, it is an issue that concerns the state, the Republic of Cyprus".

"It is not possible for Britain, a country which is one of the Cyprus Republic's guarantor powers, to deem that the actions by Mrs Blair can easily be dissociated from the political situation here," he said.

The representations came after Cypriot President Tasson Papadopoulos condemned on Sunday Cherie Blair for agreeing to defend the British couple in a land dispute. He said the prime minister's wife was behaving provocatively by agreeing to represent the pair in the high-profile case.

"It is difficult to separate her professional capacity from being the wife of the British prime minister," said Papadopoulos.

The spat erupted after it was confirmed at the weekend that Cherie Blair would be heading the defence of David and Linda Orams, the couple ordered by a Greek Cypriot court last year to demolish their home in Turkish-Cypriot dominated northern Cyprus.

In a move with possible repercussions for other UK citizens owning holiday retreats in northern Cyprus, Mr and Mrs Oram were also ordered to return the property to Meletis Apostolides, the Greek Cypriot refugee who owned the plot before war split the island in 1974.

An estimated 10,000 Europeans are thought to have invested in northern Cyprus recognized only by Turkey. Most, like the Orams, are Britons attracted to northern Cyprus by the bargain prices of properties often forcibly abandoned by Greek Cypriots in 1974.

Source: Xinhua

Editor: Is this a "Paid For" article ?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?
xml=/property/2006/01/25/pcyprus25.xml&sSheet=/property/
2006/01/28/ixpmain.html

Can the Prime Minister's wife save this holiday home?
(Filed: 25/01/2006)

Turkish republic of North Cyprus (TNRC)

Cherie Booth is to defend a British couple at the heart of a bitter dispute between Greek and Turkish Cyprus, which could see them lose their homes in the UK and on the island. Michael Griffin reports

Linda Orams was strolling in the garden of her twin-terraced, £160,000 retirement home in the north Cyprus village of Lapta when a tall, grey-haired man paused to pass the time of day. "She introduced herself as the owner of the villa," recalls Meletios Apostolides, a 55-year-old architect from Nicosia, who works for the Cyprus Tourism Organisation. "I introduced myself as the owner of the land. She said: 'But that was 30 years ago.' I said: 'My mother is alive and I'm still here.' Then we changed topic."

Uncertain territory: The Greek Cypriots, who once owned the land on which the Orams's house is built, have won an order to have it demolished

Since that encounter in April 2003, Mrs Orams, a retired museum assistant from Hove, and her husband David, have been plunged into a furious legal battle between Cyprus and the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), an increasingly popular destination for British couples with modest pensions and a taste for Mediterranean life.

The Turkish army invaded Cyprus in 1974 to protect the Turkish minority from a Greek-inspired, nationalist coup. The TRNC, established in 1983, has been diplomatic terra incognita ever since. Southern Cyprus has survived by marketing its beaches, textiles and extensive shipping fleet, while the TRNC hibernated, conserving its olive groves and gentler ways for 30 years in the face of international opprobrium. But the property issue has never gone away and few think it ever will.

It didn't take long for British buyers to discover this forgotten corner of the eastern Mediterranean. Pre-1974 homesteaders, such as Lawrence Durrell, author of Bitter Lemons of Cyprus, and Lord Kilclooney of Armagh, gave way in the 1990s to a new wave of British expatriates. Their appetites were whetted by the low-priced villas built on lands expropriated from the 167,000 Greek Cypriots who fled the Turkish invasion. According to Greek Cypriot figures, 2,827 British citizens applied to buy disputed property in 2004, three times as many as in 2003. Residents range from judges and MPs to criminals (who appreciate the absence of formal extradition agreements).

Prices reflect the security of title: houses on Turkish Cypriot land cost 30 per cent more than on Greek Cypriot property, but when three-bedroom, detached villas with pools and mountain views sell for £115,000-£150,000, the principle of caveat emptor (buyer beware) has tended to get lost.

A peace plan engineered by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, in April 2004, was fully endorsed in a referendum by Turkish Cypriots eager to gain European Union citizenship but was rejected by two-thirds of Greek Cypriots. The initiative had the effect of boosting house prices in the north and heaping more blame on the south for prolonging the 31-year quarrel.

The legal battle heated to boiling point following Cyprus's admission to the EU a month after the referendums took place. In October 2004, Mr Apostolides lodged a case at the Nicosia District Court demanding restitution of the land on which the Orams's villa was built. This won a suspiciously speedy judgement, which ordered the Orams to demolish their dream home, return the property to its previous owner and pay damages of £7,650, plus £294·41 a month, until the "situation" was resolved.

	Awaiting judgement: Meletios Apostolides with his mother

Under EU law, the Nicosia decision is theoretically enforceable in all 25 member states. Last October, lawyers for Mr Apostolides applied to the High Court in London to enforce the judgment by sequestrating the Orams's primary home in Hove if the Cyprus court's order was not carried out in full. The Orams's lawyer, Vahib & Co, expects the case will be heard next month.

In addition to the controversy, the barrister hired to defend the Orams is Cherie Booth, the human rights and EU legal expert and wife of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. During Britain's presidency of the EU, Mr Blair pressed for negotiations with Turkey on plans for it to be included in European enlargement. This was done in the face of scepticism within Europe at the benefits of such a plan and despite Ankara's poor record on human rights.

President Tassos Papadopoulos of Cyprus has denounced Cherie Booth's involvement in the case as "provocative", while the Left-wing newspaper, Haravghi, described her as "counsel to the embezzlement" of Greek Cypriot property. In December, the Turkish-British Legal Society awarded Mrs Blair the coveted Jurist of the Year trophy, picked up in her absence by the Orams's solicitor, who insists that Cypriot claims that Mrs Blair may benefit to the tune of £200,000 in defending the Orams are plain "wrong".

"There is a culture clash about how the law works," said Andrew Dismore, MP, who sits on Parliament's Friends of Cyprus group. "There is agreement about the rule of law in TRNC, that the courts are not exactly independent. They think that Cherie Booth's connections will somehow influence the outcome, which is nonsense."

Her involvement is unlikely to resolve the property wrangles that characterise north-south relations and have recruited many of the 6,000 British living in the TRNC to the Turkish Cypriot cause.

Ian Betts, a 71-year-old retired accountant who founded the European Property Association of Northern Cyprus (EUPRO) to defend expatriates' rights and "counter Greek Cypriot propaganda", sought legal advice on the Orams's case and is convinced that Mr Apostolides's case will be thrown out.

"We can't believe they've taken it to London because there must be 10 points where it's flawed. The documentation wasn't served correctly in the first place. They're only pursuing Mrs Orams, because Mr Orams was away at the time. Because the property is in both their names, it would be impossible to enforce any order made solely against Mrs Orams without the consent of her husband."

Mr Betts points out that the Nicosia decision against the Orams was made just 12 days after the serving of a summons, "hardly a reasonable time to obtain a translation, let alone organise a defence".

Mr Apostolides's lawyer is expected to invoke the European Arrest Warrant in an effort to reclaim his property in a village that was called Lepithos when he was a boy.

"I strongly believe that these foreigners, by building on Greek Cypriot land, are literally cementing the division of the island by taking the space that refugees should eventually, hopefully, go back to," he says. What the British court will have to decide is whether a law designed to facilitate the arrest anywhere in the EU of alleged drug-smugglers, murderers or terrorists can also be applied to a retired British couple caught in the crossfire of an atavistic boundary dispute.

Mr Apostolides's claim is supported by the ground-breaking decision of the European Court of Human Rights in 1998 in favour of Ms Titina Loizidou, who was awarded $600,000 (£340,000) in damages after Turkey was found to have prevented her from gaining access to her property in the northern seaport of Kyrenia.

"That was a political decision by the Turkish government," says Ian Betts. "The case was beginning to get in the way of its EU aspirations, so they decided to settle." Tom Roche, a consultant with Hillcrest Estates, a TRNC-based property company, believes the heart of the dispute lies in economics. "I'd say that the Greek Cypriots have been very clever in using their new-found position in the EU to find some legal mechanism to destabilise northern Cyprus.

"It's economic warfare, nothing more, nothing less. Investment interest here has exploded. The number of foreigners, mainly Britons, buying property in the north has increased ten-fold in the last two years."

The Cypriot government, which is backing the Apostolides suit (politically if not financially) hopes to win a test case against the Orams that will shake up the issue of property security in the TRNC. But it runs the risk of launching a broader debate on the fate of the many properties once owned in the south by Turkish Cypriots now living in the TRNC. Turkish Cypriots who have crossed the UN-controlled Green Line to visit their former homes in the south report that roads, bridges, car-parks, power stations, houses and part of Larnaka airport have been built on their confiscated lands.

Could holiday homes in the south too be at risk? Emine Erk of the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation says: "While the Greek Cypriot side is demanding, as in the case of Ms Loizidou, the immediate surrender of their own property rights, the property rights of Turkish Cypriots are being postponed until 'after the final solution of the Cyprus Problem'.

Turkish republic of North Cyprus (TNRC)

Capital: Lefkosia (Nicosia)

Main towns: Gazimagusa (Famagusta), Girne (Kyrenia)

Population: 90,000 Turkish Cypriots (104,000 in 1960), 140,000 Anatolian Turkish settlers, 535 Greek Cypriots, 137 Maronites - and 6,000 British expats Status: Only recognised by Turkey and Azerbaijan, but Turkish Cypriots are EU citizens. Settlers from Anatolia, brought in to fill abandoned Greek Cypriot properties, do not enjoy the same status.

Access: Geçitkale and Ercan airports are only recognised as legal ports of entry by Turkey and Azerbaijan, and all flights must pass through these two countries. The TRNC's ports have been closed to all but Turkish shipping since the 1974 invasion. In 2004, the 'Green Line' regulations were loosened to facilitate the movement of goods and services across the frontier, allowing visitors entry to the TRNC.

Government advice: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recently stiffened its warning to property-buyers that they risk facing "legal proceedings in the courts of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as attempts to enforce judgments from courts in the Republic of Cyprus elsewhere in the EU, including the UK".

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/cherie/story/0,,1670563,00.html

Cherie Booth's role in Cyprus land dispute angers president

Helena Smith in Athens
Monday December 19, 2005
The Guardian

The president of Cyprus, Tasson Papadopoulos, has condemned Cherie Booth for agreeing to defend a British couple in a land dispute that has become one of the most sensitive issues on the island. He said the prime minister's wife was behaving provocatively by agreeing to represent the pair in the high-profile case.

"It is difficult to separate her professional capacity from being the wife of the British prime minister," said Mr Papadopoulos, who is also a British-trained barrister. "We will take this issue up with Britain."

Article continues
Downing Street insisted Ms Booth was acting purely in her professional capacity as a leading QC. The spat erupted after Ms Booth's chambers, Matrix, confirmed at the weekend that she would be heading the defence of David and Linda Orams, the couple ordered by a Greek Cypriot court last year to demolish their home in Turkish-run northern Cyprus.

In a move with possible repercussions for other UK citizens owning holiday retreats in the outlawed republic, Mr and Mrs Oram were also ordered to return the property to Meletis Apostolides, the Greek Cypriot refugee who owned the plot before war split the island in 1974.

Ms Booth's involvement became known after the test case was lodged by Mr Apostolides' lawyer with the high court in London. As a specialist in European human rights law, Ms Booth is believed to have been approached by the Orams' London-based Turkish Cypriot solicitor, Hassan Vahid.

Speaking from Nicosia, the refugee's solicitor said: "As the Greek Cypriot court's judgment cannot be enforced in northern Cyprus because of the island's division, we used EU regulations to have it registered and applied against the Orams' assets in the UK."

Mr and Mrs Oram, who were accused of trespassing on Mr Apostolides' property, have refused to comply with the Greek Cypriot ruling. If, however, the judgment is upheld by the high court, their home in Hove could be seized by the Greek Cypriot refugee. The couple have until Thursday to appeal.

An estimated 10,000 Europeans are thought to have invested in the enclave, a breakaway territory recognised only by Turkey. Most, like the Orams, are Britons attracted to the outlawed state by the bargain prices of properties often forcibly abandoned by Greek Cypriots in 1974.

But growing numbers of refugees - encouraged by Mr Apostolides' success and by Cyprus obtaining EU status - have vowed to press ahead with legal action.

Ms Booth's decision to take on the case was tantamount to condoning the Orams' "illegal trespassing," said Kypros Chrysostomides, the island's government spokesman, adding: "We are astonished by this undertaking. This is diplomatically very sensitive."

The Caesar's wife

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Excerpted from cyprus-mail.com.
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=23433&cat_id=1
For 'fair use' and educational purposes only.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2005

Cherie involvement 'too much' 
By Elias Hazou
 
THE GOVERNMENT yesterday dismissed as "unsatisfactory"
the British High Commission's explanation that Cherie
Blair was acting in her professional capacity in
representing a British couple accused of illegally
buying Greek Cypriot property in the north.

It emerged over the weekend that the British premier’s
barrister wife is part of the team defending David and
Linda Orams, who are appealing a Nicosia court
decision ordering them to demolish the house they
built on the property of Meletios Apostolides in
Lapithos.

This means UK courts could now enforce the judgment
ordering Linda Orams to demolish the house she built
on Apostolides’ land and return the property to him.
If she refuses to do so the UK court could potentially
move to seize her assets in the UK

In Nicosia, the Foreign Ministry's permanent spokesman
Sotos Zakheos yesterday called Charge d’Affaires Rob
Fenn to his office to deliver the government’s
demarche.

"Mr. Fenn repeated that, as far as his government was
concerned, there was no political angle over Mrs.
Blair’s involvement," Zakheos told the Cyprus Mail.

"While we have full confidence in the British justice
system, still, this is a delicate matter with
political and human rights ramifications, and Blair’s
involvement was a bit too much... it could have been
avoided."

He added that the timing was also not ideal, given
that Cyprus and the UK have been at odds inside the EU
over the decoupling of financial assistance and direct
trade between the bloc and the breakaway regime.

Recently, the two countries agreed on a structured
dialogue in an effort to mend their fragile relations.

The Orams case is seen widely as a test case against
foreign residents living in Greek Cypriot properties
abandoned following the Turkish invasion of the island
in 1974. If Orams loses the case, it could constitute
a massive blow to the thriving sales of Greek Cypriot
properties in the north. Conversely, if she wins, it
could greatly set back efforts by Greek Cypriot
refugees to regain their properties in the north.

But yesterday Foreign Minister George Iacovou said he
learned Mrs Blair would be handling a legal procedure
point, rather than the substance of the property
dispute, an issue that lies at the core of the Cyprus
problem.

Cherie Booth (the Prime Minister’s wife uses her
maiden name in her legal career) has been hired by
London-based solicitors Hassan Vahib & Associates,
acting on behalf of the Orams couple in the UK. Vahib,
a Turkish Cypriot lawyer and land developer, could not
be reached for comment yesterday.

Vahib's land developer company, Troy Lake Overseas
Homes, does business in the occupied north, Turkey and
Bulgaria.

And Cherie Blair’s law firm Matrix withheld comment,
referring the Mail to the solicitors. Meanwhile, media
reports said that Mrs. Blair, a highly paid barrister,
would be receiving a fee of some £50,000 for taking on
the case. Newspapers speculated that the bill would be
footed by business interests (real estate agents and
developers) with a stake in the outcome.

Earlier this year, a group of foreign nationals living
in Greek Cypriot properties north of the Green Line
formed the European Property Association of North
Cyprus (EUPRO). The association made no secret of its
agenda, with a spokesman saying they were "building a
war chest" and pooling their resources to fight off
Greek Cypriots’ claims over properties in the
breakaway regime.

Subsequent press reports said EUPRO had raised £1
million to that end.

"The Orams might lose a house, but business interests
[in the north] stand to lose millions of pounds," said
Constandinos Candounas, the lawyer representing Greek
Cypriot refugee Apostolides.

Asked whether this might be why the Orams hired the
services of a high-profile public figure, such as the
wife of the British PM, Candounas said "that’s
probably a good guess".

Earlier, Candounas had told the Mail he was looking
forward to slugging it out in court with Mrs. Blair,
whom he described as a "formidable opponent".

And Apostolides suggested that Mrs Blair's involvement
was a two-edged sword:

"One thing’s for sure -- it will generate a great deal
of publicity. If nothing else, the British public will
now be informed about the situation on the island and
the exploitation of Greek Cypriots’ properties."

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2005

********************************************************

-- From the British Press

"Cherie Booth's role in Cyprus land dispute angers
president" 
By Helena Smith in Athens (Monday December 19, 2005) -
The Guardian 
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/cherie/story/0,12713,1670
563,00.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5487
108,00.html
 
"Cherie case provokes diplomatic row" 
By Michael Theodoulou 
The Prime Minister's wife is defending a couple
accused of illegally building a villa in Cyprus
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1939042,
00.html

British Broadcasting Corporation
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4538960.stm

-- From the Turkish Research Program of The Washington
Institute for Near East Policy  
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=341

-- From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Cyprus
http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/mfa.nsf/NewsDisplay?OpenForm&Ne
wID=A65E7939D4686861C22570EB003EC8E5

-- From the Greek/G/C press
http://www.cyprusweekly.com.cy/default.aspx?FrontPageNews
ID=304_2
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_124
3581_19/12/2005_64297
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_29
05951_20/12/2005_64339

-- From the Turkish/T/C press
http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2005/12/19/dunya/adun.html
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&trh=20051219&h
n=27721
http://www.londragazete.com/?newsid=7364&category=119
http://www.londragazete.com/?newsid=7363&category=119

Related links
http://www.opp.org.uk/opp_news/December_2005/ECHR_ruli
ng_offers_little
_reassurance_to_UK_residents_in_Northern_Cyprus.htm

North Cyprus Property Law
http://www.wellestates.com/north_cyprus_property.htm

North Cyprus Title deeds
http://www.wellestates.com/north_cyprus_title_deeds.htm

C.D.K.

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus5563.html

(see the Forum for 8 pages of comments)

Decision in Orams case on invasion anniversary

EXCLUSIVE
(From the Cyprus Weekly)

By Philippos Stylianou

ON THE anniversary of the Turkish invasion this summer, the London High Court will deliver its final judgment on the controversial Orams case, which is expected to have an enormous effect on the future of Greek Cypriot refugee properties in the occupied areas.

Lawyer Constantis Candounas, who has asked the High Court to enforce a decision by a Cypriot court ordering David and Linda Orams from Hove, Sussex, to return land property to his client Meletis Apostolides, said the trial had been set for July 18, 19 and 20.

The action, under an EU regime making possible the enforcement of court decisions of one member state in the courts of another, was filed on December 21, 2005 and, besides being the first of its kind in the UK, it became even more controversial when the Orams retained the legal services of Cherie Blair QC, wife of the British Prime Minister.

Candounas told The Cyprus Weekly that he attended a hearing at the High Court with the Orams’ solicitors on March 1, 2006, during which the Court gave instructions for Apostolides’ expert witnesses to submit their evidence by March 29.

The Orams were to reply within a week, which they did, and then the lawyers of both sides were given two weeks to meet together.

Not easy

Called by The Cyprus Weekly to say if the date coinciding with the 32nd invasion anniversary carried any special significance, Candounas said it was very fortunate that they could get such an early date.

He explained that it was not easy to find a time slot suiting the lawyers of the two sides and the High Court judges.

Cherie Blair tried to get a postponement until Linda Orams’ appeal to the Cyprus Supreme Court against the ruling of the court of first instance was heard, but the High Court rejected this, as it could have taken as long as a year to 18 months.

Leading the UK legal team for Meletis Apostolides against Cherie Blair and other lawyers from the Matrix Chambers, will be Thomas Beazley QC, of Blackstone Chambers, with Simon Congdon of Holmans Fenwick Willan Solicitors and another QC from Brickstone Chambers.

Unaware

Linda and David Orams claimed they had bought Apostolides’ property in Lapithos, near Kyrenia, in good faith from a Turkish Cypriot without being aware of the legal and political implications and build a luxury villa there.

The Nicosia District Court ordered them to demolish the villa and return the property to its rightful owner. In the face of the Orams’ refusal to comply with the decision and being unable to enforce it because of the Turkish occupation in northern Cyprus, Apostolides can ask to have the judgment executed against the Orams’ UK property.

The British High Court will not review the merits of the case but will decide on matters of procedure and public policy.

The development has slowed down the arbitrary sale of Greek Cypriot refugee properties in the occupied territories, mainly to UK nationals, which had reached alarming proportions.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the High Court decision will seal the fate of the Greek Cypriot refugee properties either way.

Cyprus insists it will keep the EU pressure on Turkey
By Elias Hazou
(archive article - Wednesday, May 17, 2006)

CYPRUS will be on Turkey’s case every step of the way, ensuring that the neighbouring country meets its obligations toward the European Union, President Papadopoulos has warned.

He was commenting on talk originating from Brussels that certain EU members were mulling over delaying the release of a progress report on Ankara to November and possibly next year.

Turkey got the green light to start accession negotiations with the 25-member bloc last year, with the EU imposing what were arguably the harshest criteria on a candidate nation to date.

In addition, Cyprus and France had at the time pressed for a progress review, monitoring both Turkey’s broader compliance with the EU acquis as well as its obligation to enforce the customs union protocol.

Ankara still refuses to open its ports to Cypriot ships and aircraft, as it does not recognise the Republic.

The opening of Turkish ports to Cyprus-flagged vessels is seen as a bargaining chip for the government in extracting concessions from Ankara on the island’s political problem.

But in exchange the Turkish government wants the lifting of the north’s economic isolation – in effect the start of direct trade between the occupied areas and the EU, unacceptable to Nicosia while the Cyprus problem remains unsolved.

As early as last year analysts were forecasting this tug of war would come to a head sooner or later, since Cyprus could use its membership of the EU to block Ankara’s accession negotiations.

On his return from the EU’s General Affairs Council in Brussels this week, Foreign Minister George Iacovou spoke of “rumours” going around that some countries were pushing for a delay of Turkey’s progress review, slated for this autumn.

“There are whispers in the corridors of Brussels that two or three countries want a postponement,” Iacovou told state radio yesterday.

However, he explained, Turkey itself had not applied for an extension.

“It has not yet been decided when the [progress] report will be submitted. The prediction is that this will happen soon, and that the Commission’s report will be discussed by the Council of Ministers in October.

“We shall not consent to any delays,” he asserted.

He went on to outline the government’s diplomatic strategy for the coming months:
“We strongly encourage the Commission to prepare and submit its report as soon as possible. That way, the Council of Ministers would have no justification in delaying its discussion.”

It’s thought that EU leaders are ready to ‘back off’, giving Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan some breathing space for reforms. Putting the squeeze on Erdogan now might undermine his position at home ahead of the 2007 general elections in Turkey.

Worried about the lack of progress, Nicosia is considering turning up the heat on Ankara, for example by demanding from its EU partners that Turkey’s compliance to the customs protocol should be assessed after the closure of each negotiating chapter.

“It is Turkey’s intention to avoid scrutiny, to put off its evaluation, and that’s normal,” President Papadopoulos said yesterday.

“Likewise, it’s normal for us to use all our resources and contacts to reverse this trend.”

In Papadopoulos’ view, Turkey would find itself in “a very tough spot” were it subjected to the checks agreed by the EU last year.

In its response to Ankara’s refusal to recognise Cyprus, the EU issued a so-called counter-declaration that read:

“Turkey must apply the Protocol fully to all EU Member States,” it said, adding that this would be reviewed in 2006 and if found wanting, the relevant chapters for negotiations would not be opened.

“Prior recognition of all Member States is a necessary component of accession. Accordingly, the EU underlines the importance it attaches to the normalisation of relations between Turkey and all EU Member States, as soon as possible.”