The Help Tabloid

The idea that a united Cyprus is a tangible possibility has been met with many supporters, and many cynics. For those who remain cynical, despite the numerous talks between the Presidents Mehmet Ali Talat and Dimitris Chrisofias, the division of interest over an E.U member state and a non E.U member state is a genuine concern. In fact, the demand from Ankara that the island of Cyprus is of strategic importance to national security has met with interest; with European politics now centred on the European Union, the concept of collective security rules over the security of individual nations. As Turkey continues its insistence, it could perhaps be viewed as nationalistic, in a system that now disputes the need for that idea at all. It is hard, then, for the government in Turkey to claim strategic significance on the island of Cyprus, if it is in the name of security against aggressors, simply because the E.U is founded on a principle that member states work together. There are certainly cynics and critics of the collective security system, though, and they suggest that authoritative bodies like the E.U are in essence using new language to cover up the fact that they still work on power politics and political predominance.Of course, that does not help smooth out reunification talks over Cyprus, essentially because the truth of the claim does not affect the potency of the claim; any accusation of falsehood by a nation, in or outside the governing body of the E.U, would simply become isolated by the European community, so that the truthfulness of the principles behind collective security are besides the point; it is more that questioning them gives a nation like Turkey less weight in negotiations over European matters, and that will include the Cyprus reunification talks, simply because Greece is a long standing E.U member state. All this is not to say that the reunification of the partitioned Cyprus isn’t still a possibility; the seemingly genuine commitment to the cause from both presidents will stretch a long way. But the problem might lie in the simple fact that nations want reunification on different terms; A Greek Cyprus could be more easily welcomed into the European fold, and it could preach under the terms that the E.U champions, just as Greece does. But Turkey, which has been historically disputed as a legitimate member of the European community, perhaps holds reservations about the practicality and truthfulness of the ethics of the European Union. Whether Turkey is or is not suspicious of the European Union and its motives is perhaps irrelevant; what is important is that the dominance of the E.U - and more importantly, the dominance of the ideas of the European Union - over European affairs means that the Cyprus reunification talks could break down over - depending on opinion - conflicting points, or conflicting language.