In response to our letter herein under to Mr. George Markopouliotis, the Head of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, we have received the answer below, not from the Head of the Representation to whom the letter was addressed to but from a lower ranking officer. We understand that Mr. Markopouliotis is very busy and does not have the time to deal with an issue affecting thousands of Cypriots who are giving a struggle to exercise their most democratic right to vote as European citizens. He has also refused to meet us when we went to visit him at his office yesterday and showed similar attitudes in other occasions in the recent past. As MEP Candidates it is our role to share everything openly with our electorate. We can no longer hide the fact that we are disappointed with what seems to be a personal policy of deliberate indifference by the highest ranking official of the European Commission in the island. Yet we still believe that this does not reflect an institutional stance by the European Union towards the Turkish Cypriot community and we would like to openly thank Ms. Alexandra Attalides, the Acting Head of the European Parliament Office in Cyprus for devoting the maximum time and attention to address all our questions and concerns throughout this whole process. OPEN LETTER TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Dear Mr. George Markopouliotis, Today the Head of the Elections Service of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. DemetrisDemetriou has announced and shared with the press the full list of all Turkish Cypriot citizens of the Republic of Cyprus who are eligible to vote in this Sundays elections. Apart from the fact that the list openly discloses everyones full ID numbers and birthdates causing a huge infringement of personal data and privacy rights, there is also a serious issue that many people have not been able to find their names on the list. The Ministry of Interior has so far been unable to respond to our claims about how to tackle with these complaints prior to the election day in order to avoid any serious problems on that day. As an MEP candidate I am personally flocked with hundreds of these complaints since this morning and as such, I am resorting to the advice of the European Commission on this very sensitive issue of democratic rights. What is the position of the Commission as the relevant authority in charge of making sure that the Member States act in line with EU rules and guidelines vis-a-vis this situation? Is the Commission going to take any solid steps in order to make sure that not a single eligible Cypriot citizen is deprived of his/her right to vote? What is the advice of the Commission to the people whose names do not appear on the list but who are ID card holders and as such, citizens, of the Republic of Cyprus residing in areas where the AcquisCommunautaire is suspended? Is the EU going to have any observers at least at the voting stations exclusively designated for Turkish Cypriots? Does the EU have a crisis plan in case many Turkish Cypriots go to the ballot boxes on Sunday and they will be refused the right to vote hence leading to serious negative repercussions for European democracy? Please consider this as an official request of information from the Commission both in my capacity as an MEP Candidate and as a Cypriot citizen, on behalf of hundreds of other people, as well as the press, who are waiting for immediate clarification from your side. In anticipation of your urgent response, Kindest Regards, Deniz Birinci H. Alev Nedjet MEP Candidate MEP Candidate Copy: Alexandra Attalides Acting Head of European Parliament Office in Cyprus THE REPLY TO OUR LETTER: I would like to thank you for your e-mail dated May 21st to the Head of the Representation. The information you requested in the herein under e-mail is as follows: Concerning the electoral procedure for the election of the representatives of the European Parliament, please note that: in accordance with Article 8 of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, the electoral procedure for the election of the Members of the European Parliament is governed in each Member State by its national provisions, subject to the provisions of that Act. Pursuant to Article 223 TFEU, it is for the European Parliament to draw up proposals to lay down the provisions necessary for the election of its Members. With regards to personal data and privacy rights: if you consider that there has been a breach of EU law, please fill in the attached complaint form, stating all the relevant facts. This form will then be forwarded to the relevant Commission services, which will assess the complaint Best Regards, Eleftherios Eleftheriou Political Reporting and Policy Analysis Representation of the European Commission in Cyprus 30 Byron Avenue, 1096 Nicosia P.O.Box 23480, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus Tel: +357 22817770, Fax: +357 22768926
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 10:43:37 +0000
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