Cyprus has formally called on the European Commission to use its influence with Turkey over the management of foot-and-mouth disease in the occupied north, as the divergence between the island’s two sides draws increasing political attention, Phileleftheros has learned.
Nicosia’s position — already communicated officially to Brussels — is that uniform, EU-compliant policies must be applied in the occupied north in order to establish an island-wide line of defence against the virus.
According to sources, President Nikos Christodoulides raised the issue directly with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at their meeting on Wednesday, asking the Commission to take a more active role.
The request was also tabled at a meeting of the relevant technical veterinary subcommittee on 16 March 2026.
The issue first surfaced in mid-December 2025, when Cyprus raised concerns over suspected cases in Lapathos in the Famagusta district. Following confirmation of the outbreak on 15 December 2025, the Republic immediately offered technical assistance to Turkish Cypriot experts.
Between 10 and 13 February 2026, the EU delivered 500,000 vaccine doses through Republic authorities, which were handed over to the Turkish Cypriot side at Ledra Palace. On 23 February 2026, 60,000 doses were returned to the Veterinary Services following an agreement.
At a parliamentary Agriculture Committee session last Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou and Veterinary Services Director Christodoulos Pipis set out the stark gap between the two sides’ approaches.
“Whether Turkish Cypriot livestock farmers will actually implement the measures remains the big question,” Panayiotou said, adding that the absence of oversight in the occupied areas makes effective action by the Republic extremely difficult.
Pipis said the Republic was following EU protocols strictly. No cases had been detected in government-controlled areas following the confirmation in the occupied north — checks within a 3km radius of the ceasefire line had returned negative results — and as a result neither culling nor preventive vaccination had been activated.
In the occupied north, where EU law is not followed, there is no compensation scheme for farmers and no EU-compatible action plans, meaning the virus is not being tackled at source, he said.
Pipis also explained the decision to lift checkpoint disinfections in January 2026, saying it was based on a risk assessment endorsed by the European Commission’s EUVET expert group, after laboratory results from neighbouring farms came back negative.
Looking ahead, Pipis said the goal was to establish a joint veterinary committee — operating on the basis of the EU acquis — through the negotiator.
The seven-member Scientific Advisory Committee on foot-and-mouth disease, appointed by the Agriculture Minister, met in full yesterday.
Also present was Stavros Malas, appointed by the President to head a separate scientific committee tasked with drawing up recommendations for modernising and rebuilding the livestock sector over a ten-year horizon. That committee is expected to submit its proposals to the government within three months.
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