Cypriots in Favor of the EU... Both Turkish and Greek Cypriots are willing to protect the EU framework though motivated by the hope to strengthen their hands and demands.

ANKARA - According to the results of a public opinion poll conducted at Cyprus, both Turkish and Greek Cypriots are willing to protect the EU framework though motivated by the hope to strengthen their hands and demands.

Evaluation note "European Union Membership as an Alternative Horizon for the TRNC against "Kosovoization" and "Taiwanization"" by TEPAV Research Associate Mehmet Ratip was published.

The note assessed the results of a public opinion poll conducted by the Public Research and Consultancy Center (KADEM) in collaboration with Symmetron Market Research from the Southern Cyprus on behalf of a bi-communal civil society initiative called Cyprus 2015. Stating that one of the striking features of the poll was related with the solution models Turkish Cypriots prioritize for the solution of the Cyprus problem, the note said:

"Separation with both states in EU" being the ideal model for Turkish Cypriots (58%) is of importance for it puts an emphasis on the EU membership rather than on separation driven by the evaporation of hopes for uniting with Greek Cypriots as frequently highlighted. The emphasis on the EU membership comes to the fore also in the second best option preferred by the Turkish Cypriots ("separation with TC state to join EU separately"). The outstanding point here is that the models deemed to be the ideal solution foresee separation accompanied with EU membership rather than pure separation. This is why the options "recognition of the TRNC", "continuation of the status quo" and "separation with TC state out of EU" as non-EU scenarios find place in the back seats, at the 4th, 5th, and 9th places, respectively. The results reveal that EU membership accompanied by different options constitutes the top-three ideal models.

Taking departure from this general outlook, we can conclude that an economic future for the TRNC that will be shaped in line with the EU norms will be deemed satisfactory by Turkish Cypriots. In addition, it is evident that demand for normalization in the light of the EU norms aimed to be realized without being deprived of a separate and autonomous state is of vital importance for Turkish Cypriots independent of a possible solution that foresees a federal partnership with Greek Cypriots. It is now an unavoidable necessity for Turkish Cypriots to experience a productive state with fiscal autonomy and discipline under any future scenario. Positive expectations among Turkish Cypriots about the EU norms are embedded in the desire for a productive and efficient state mechanism."

Maintaining that Greek Cypriot's preferences about solution models were also highly interesting, TEPAV's assessment continued:

"Greek Cypriot's preferences about solution models are also highly interesting. "Federation without restrictions/guarantees" and "unitary state" models were seen satisfactory by 79% and 77%, respectively, followed by separation models   that will regulate Turkish Cypriots' relations with the EU. The models "Separation with the TC state out of the EU", "Separation with TC state to join EU separately" and "Separation with both states in EU" were seen satisfactory respectively by 30%, 28% and 27% of Greek Cypriots. It is important to note that all of the three options stated above are considered to be more satisfactory then the option "continuation of status quo" (20% satisfactory) by Greek Cypriots.

Therefore, parties on the island might prefer to protect the EU framework driven with the hope to strengthen their hands and demands. Even if the ideal expectations about the EU are not entirely met for any of the two parties due to certain disappointments, Greek Cypriots might hope to use their advantageous position of already being a member state before the Turkish Cypriots who hold the EU perspective whereas Northern Cypriots might embrace the EU path with the aim to enable international interaction as a more realistic option than the other non-EU scenarios. It is pleasing to see the hint that the island started to regulate the relations with the EU through a perspective of strategic and rational realism rather than through misinformation and unrealistic ideals. These insights might guide the process to grounds on which more pragmatic and reasonable initiatives to a solution can be based."