Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Independent Diplomat worked with the Office of the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, H.E. Mehmet Ali Talat, from 2007 through 2010 to provide independent and expert information and diplomatic advice in his efforts to negotiate, under UN auspices, a bizonal, bicommunal federal state on the island of Cyprus after the failure of the 2004 Annan Plan proposals, which left the Turkish Cypriots as citizens of the European Union but outside its political and economic structures.

ID supplied input on particular issues as they arose in the negotiations process, including research on specific constitutional arrangements in federal states and EU practice in terms of adapting the Treaties to fit and reflect particular local needs, research on electoral colleges as a means of consensus-building in divided societies and guidance on cases where specific local security arrangements (as sought by the Turkish Cypriots in the settlement process) have been incorporated into the European Union’s structure.

ID also reported and analysed the European Commission’s strategy for dealing with the Turkish Cypriot community, closely following the EU’s internal institutional changes and its developing relationship with Turkey, and facilitated the beneficiaries’ communication with them, including hosting meetings between the Turkish Cypriot leadership and senior EU member state officials.