The Turkish Cypriot “administration” in the occupied north, in a statement issued by its self-styled “Ministry of Foreign Affairs” and released through its Public Information Office, has rejected the European Commission’s appointment of Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto as its special representative for Cyprus.
The statement described the appointment, made on the recommendation of the Republic of Cyprus, as “unilateral and illegal” and said it would never be accepted by the Turkish Cypriot side, calling it a “provocative step” that it said highlighted what it called the European Union’s biased attitude towards Cyprus.
The occupation authorities accused the EU of having lost its impartiality on the Cyprus issue since admitting the Republic of Cyprus to membership in 2004, and said the bloc continued to disregard what it called the island’s delicate political balances by repeatedly appointing representatives.
Ahead of an informal meeting reportedly expected in the coming days, the statement claimed that EU and Republic of Cyprus efforts to create what it called an “artificial process” and pressure the Turkish Cypriot side were “bound to be futile,” alleging there was no common ground between the two sides.
The statement argued that a realistic and lasting settlement on Cyprus was only possible through what it described as cooperation based on “sovereign equality” and “equal international status” for both sides on the island, and called on the EU to first remove what it characterised as political, economic and cultural restrictions on the Turkish Cypriot people to demonstrate its sincerity.
Fitto’s appointment was announced on Sunday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said it reflected a renewed dynamic to resolve the Cyprus problem within the UN framework and signalled deeper Commission involvement in the process. The move followed the resignation in March of former Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who had held the Commission’s special envoy role for Cyprus since May 2025. It also comes as President Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman have been working through the UN-led track, with talks in April described by the UN as constructive and both sides reporting some progress on confidence-building measures, though negotiations on issues such as the Athienou and Ledra Street crossings remain unresolved.
The statement concluded by saying the Turkish Cypriot side would regard the EU’s move as void “as long as” its claimed sovereign equality and international status went unrecognised, and that its “administration” would not engage with it on that basis.
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