The Will of the People

Joost Lagendijk, a European Parliamentarian from Netherlands and co-president of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission gave a speech in Istanbul today where he brought up the issue of Cyprus. According to Mr. Lagendijk, the EU made a big mistake in accepting a divided Cyprus as a member and noted that Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish government supported the Annan plan. In light of this, certain EU leaders were exerting efforts on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots. Clearly Mr. Lagendijk does not speak on behalf of all the people of Netherlands and he has a right to his opinion. Frankly, it’s an opinion that holds no water. With his logic, Netherlands should have been isolated from the rest of the EU because it did not vote “Yes” to the EU referendum. When the Netherlands said “No” to the EU constitution...the Cypriot government said that it stood by the people of Netherlands and that it respects the will of the people of Netherlands. Rejecting the EU constitution does not affect only Netherlands...it affected the entire EU. The Cypriot government approved the EU constitution yet it stood by the decision of the people of Netherlands. The people of Netherlands, rightly so… expect a revised EU constitution that addresses the concerns of its people. The Cypriots are asking for the same thing with the Annan plan. Why should we be treated any differently?