House President Annita Demetriou on Monday called for a “stronger and more structured” role for the European Union in talks aimed at resolving the Cyprus problem.

In a letter she penned to Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People’s Party, the European grouping to which her party, Disy, belongs she wrote that “the Cyprus issue has re-entered a phase of cautious but meaningful diplomatic movement”, making reference to the current round of contacts being undertaken by United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin.

“This effort deserves more political support, as it offers the best available path for creating the conditions for a more substantive next step. This development, however, remains fragile and the political distance between the parties remains substantial,” she wrote.

She said Turkey is “continuing to publicly advocate a two-state solution”, though it has publicly softened its stance from where it had been prior to the election of Tufan Erhurman as Turkish Cypriot leader last year.

In his most recent public intervention on the Cyprus problem, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said only that there “are” two states on the island, without expressly stating that he wishes for a two-state solution, while sources have since told the Cyprus Mail that he has green-lit the “new initiative” being undertaken by the UN.

Demetriou on Monday added that “we believe that a stronger and more structured European role is both necessary and timely”, and said that the appointment of Johannes Hahn as the EU’s envoy for the Cyprus problem was a “welcome and important step”.

With this in mind, she said that his resignation in March “should not result in a lapse of European engagement”, and that “on the contrary, the present phase of renewed UN diplomacy makes the need for continuity even stronger”.

“We would therefore be grateful for your support in expressing clear backing for the current UN-led process and for [Holguin’s] efforts to reconvene an informal five-plus-one meeting,” she said.

She also asked for Weber’s support “in promoting, within the EPP family and with the European institutions, the appointment of a renewed dedicated EU representative for Cyprus”.

This representative, she said, should operate in a fashion “complementary to the efforts of [UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres] and [Holguin]”.

“We are grateful for the EPP’s longstanding support on Cyprus, its rejection of the partitionist two-state approach, and its full commitment to a unified Cyprus, in accordance with the relevant [UN] security council resolutions and in line with EU law, values, and principles,” she said.

She added that “progress on Cyprus would strengthen stability in the eastern Mediterranean and reinforce the credibility of a Europe that stands for reconciliation, rules, and peace”.

“We are convinced that, at this critical juncture, a principled and active EPP contribution can strengthen the prospects for a meaningful next phase in the UN-led effort,” he said.