HC Deb 08 July 2003 vol 408 cc742-3W
Mr. Dismore

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for Turkish Cypriot EU citizens applying for jobs with the EU Commission, in the event of Turkish not being an official language of the EU; and if he will make a statement. [R] [123164]

Mr. MacShane

The Republic of Cyprus has specified to the EU that its official language is Greek. Any Cypriot citizen applying for jobs within the Commission would have to work with the official languages of the Union.

In the event of a comprehensive settlement on the basis of the UN plan and consequent EU membership by a reunited Cyprus, it is likely that Turkish would become an official language of the EU. In that way, the current anomalous situation would be resolved.

We are urging both sides to resume negotiations and commit to securing a settlement on the basis of the UN plan.

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