President Mehmet Ali Talat of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) launched high-level initiatives for the approval of Direct Trade Regulation as soon as possible.

Talat, within that scope, spoke with EU officials on the phone and asked their support for Direct Trade Regulation which is started to be discussed in April.

Talat had phone conversations with EU President Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele, Vice Chair of European Parliament Libor Roucek and EP Socialist Group Chairman Martin Schulz on Wednesday.

During the talks, Talat stressed the importance of immediate approval of Direct Trade Regulation in order to lift the isolations on Turkish Cypriots.

European Commission prepared Direct Trade Regulation on April 26, 2004 after the referendum on Annan Plan, and presented it to the approval of the EU Council. The regulation was then presented to the attention of EP.

Committee on International Trade will discuss the regulation and send it to EP General Assembly for approval. Following the approval of the EP, the regulation is expected to be voted at EU Council.


AA