US embassy cable - 04ISTANBUL789

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000789 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELTN, ETRD, GR, PREL, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: TRUCKING INTO THE EU...VIA CYPRUS? 
 
 
1. (SBU)  Summary:  Hundreds of Turkish truckers were stopped 
for days at several EU border crossings on May 1 when 
European customs officials insisted that they present 
insurance cards valid in Cyprus.  Although the crisis was 
resolved by issuing replacement insurance cards, Turkish 
truckers and border officials were piqued that the 
requirement was instituted without notification, particularly 
given the unlikelihood of any Turkish truck actually ever 
driving to Cyprus.  End Summary. 
 
 
2.  (U)  Turkish truckers were stopped on May 1 at the 
Ipsala/Kipi border crossing by Greek customs officials 
demanding "green cards" (proof of third party insurance) 
showing Cyprus as one of the 43 Green Card 
System-participating countries.  (Note:  Prior to May 1, 
green cards purchased in Turkey showed the Cyprus box on the 
card marked out with two "X"'s.  End note.)  Huseyin Turan 
Yanik, the regional representative for a Turkish transport 
association (Uluslararisi Nakliyeciler Dernegi - UND), told 
poloff May 7 that this problem was solved relatively quickly. 
 Some truckers were able to purchase new single-entry green 
cards at the border for 100 to 300 Euros, while others got 
them through agents in Istanbul.  Turkish truckers who were 
stopped in other European countries -- including Hungary, 
Slovakia and Croatia -- were also able to arrange for new 
green cards on-site at similar expense.  Yanik, who 
personally fielded many of the calls from panicked truckers, 
estimates that between 400 and 1000 trucks were affected at 
the Ipsala border crossing alone.  Although the backlog had 
largely cleared by May 4, the full costs associated with 
these delays - which the UND fears may include penalties for 
late deliveries and/or contract cancellations - will not be 
known until all the trucks return from their destinations in 
Europe. 
 
 
3.  (SBU)  Nevzat Er, Chief Customs Inspector General for 
Kapikule and Ipsala told Poloff on May 7 that it was unclear 
whether or not EU countries were coordinating on this new 
requirement.  He claimed that Brussels had not sent out any 
new directive about this, and said his Greek counterparts got 
their orders by telephone from Athens.  Yanik and Er both 
questioned the logic of the new requirement since the chance 
of a Turkish truck transiting Cyprus is quite low, but Yanik 
was mostly pragmatic.  The majority of his members didn't 
care whether or not Cyprus was "X-ed out" or not, he said; 
"they just want to do their job."  Despite his 
business-oriented attitude, it was clear that many at the 
border suspected Greece was behind the new green card 
requirement, and that politics was getting in the way of 
commerce.  Yanik expects that a similar situation could 
develop with other customs documents, such as ATR 
certificates, in the future. 
ARNETT