Dânâ takes Cyprus talks to Brussels

The visit followed his address to an event at the UK Parliament in London on October 21.

During his Brussels contacts, Mr Dânâ met officials from the permanent representations to the EU of Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as Italy, France and the Netherlands.

He also held talks with the head and members of European Council President António Costa’s cabinet and a member of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s cabinet.

Other meetings involved cabinet members of European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, senior officials responsible for Schengen and internal security, and officials from the Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood.

Mr Dânâ also met a cabinet member of Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto, whose portfolio covers cohesion and reforms, and officials from the European External Action Service’s Directorate-General for Europe and Central Asia.

Discussions covered the Turkish Cypriot position on the Cyprus issue, the latest developments on confidence-building measures, UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s visit to the island and forthcoming contacts by his personal envoy, María Ángela Holguín.

Mr Dânâ raised Greek Cypriot actions which the Turkish Cypriot side says undermine trust, alongside response letters received from the UN Secretary-General and the European Commission concerning those actions.

He also highlighted the continuing isolation of Turkish Cypriots and what the Turkish Cypriot side describes as violations of the EU citizenship rights of children born to mixed marriages.

The Greek Cypriot side’s process towards joining the Schengen area was another key issue raised during the meetings.