The European Commission is diligently working towards enabling Turkish Cypriot producers to benefit from the registration of Halloumi/Hellim as a European Union Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
This initiative necessitates Turkish Cypriot producers’ adherence to PDO requirements and their compliance with relevant EU food safety and animal health standards. These efforts were highlighted by Judit Rozsa, the Director of Resources, Coordination, and Aid Programme within the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support of the European Commission.
Speaking during the 4th Cyprus Forum in Nicosia, Rozsa emphasised their approach, which aims to foster reunification by presenting Turkish Cypriots with tangible examples of EU advantages. However, she underscored that such benefits come with responsibilities, chiefly the need for compliance with EU standards. The Halloumi/Hellim scheme thus serves as a “mini reunification lab.”
Rozsa extended her gratitude to the Republic of Cyprus authorities for their constructive cooperation in making this possible. She noted the enthusiastic involvement of the Turkish Cypriot community in the Halloumi/Hellim project, with several producers already receiving the PDO label or actively pursuing it. Rozsa expressed the goal of seeing Halloumi/Hellim available for sale across the Green Line by 2024.
In her address, Rozsa stressed that Cyprus’ reunification is the most advantageous course for the island and its people. Such reunification would enable the entire Cyprus region to fully benefit from EU membership. The EU and the European Commission contribute to the reunification process through three key pillars: settlement talks, the Aid Programme, and Green Line trade.
Regarding settlement talks, Rozsa noted the importance of ensuring that negotiations adhere to EU rules and requirements, as a reunified Cyprus must function effectively as an EU member state. Collaboration with the United Nations is central to this effort.
Rozsa also highlighted the EU’s aid program for the Turkish Cypriot community, designed with the sole objective of facilitating reunification. Since 2006, the EU has allocated nearly 700 million Euros to this program, a substantial commitment given the size of the Turkish Cypriot community. The program has supported over 2,000 scholarships for Turkish Cypriots to study in the EU, promoting European values and lifestyles.
The EU further supports confidence-building measures, such as bi-communal technical committees, notably the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, which has preserved or safeguarded over 130 cultural monuments throughout Cyprus. The Commission also provides funding to the Committee on Missing Persons, which has located, exhumed, and identified the remains of more than 1,000 missing individuals, contributing to the healing of historical wounds.
Rozsa stressed that the Commission offers grants and guidance to small businesses and farmers in the Turkish Cypriot community, fostering innovation, job creation, and compliance with EU standards. Science laboratories have been provided to nearly one hundred primary and secondary schools, allowing students to engage in hands-on experiments in biology, chemistry, and physics.
Additionally, the Commission is supporting the establishment of the first bi-communal solar power plant, which, with a projected capacity of 30 to 50 MegaWatts, could catalyse the green transition on the island.
In terms of Green Line trade, Rozsa underlined its significance in facilitating Cyprus’ reunification by bringing people together, fostering trust, and contributing to the island’s economic reintegration. The trade’s value reached 14.6 million Euros last year, marking a record high. Rozsa called for increased efforts to expand this trade, announcing the opening of an EU-funded one-stop-shop to provide information on Green Line trade requirements and opportunities for businesses from both communities.
In conclusion, Rozsa acknowledged the challenges but emphasized the absence of a viable alternative to resuming negotiations within the UN framework. She called on all stakeholders to make a compelling case for how a reunified Cyprus would benefit both communities, hoping that her outlined initiatives would contribute to this essential objective for Cyprus.