EU appoints Raffaele Fitto to revive Cyprus reunification talks

The European Union has appointed Raffaele Fitto, an executive vice-president of the European Commission, as its special representative for renewed Cyprus settlement talks, signaling a major political push to resolve Europe's longest-running frozen conflict. Cyprus has welcomed the appointment but insists Fitto will need a full-scale EU task force to address key issues such as the economy, welfare state, and property rights for hundreds of thousands displaced since the 1974 Turkish invasion. The appointment has drawn a cold response from Turkish Cypriots, who called it 'unilateral and illegitimate' and questioned Fitto's neutrality, while Turkey described it as an internal EU matter but urged Fitto to change the bloc's 'partisan position'. Talks are expected under the '5+1' format involving Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, guarantor powers Greece, Turkey, and the UK, and the UN. The EU backs a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, while Turkey increasingly supports a two-state solution.