64 pct of Turkish Cypriots wish to replace lira with euro, poll shows

The Center for Migration, Identity and Rights Studies (CMRIS) has conducted a poll revealing that 63.79 percent of Turkish Cypriots wish to replace the Turkish lira with the euro amid the devaluation of the local currency.

Saturday December 25 2021 09:18 am

People celebrate the Turkish Cyprus' foundation in Istanbul's Taksim Square on Nov 15, 2021 in this file photo.

Duvar English

Some 63.79 percent of Turkish Cypriots support a transition to the euro amid the collapse of the Turkish lira and soaring inflation, a poll conducted by the Nicosia-based Center for Migration, Identity and Rights Studies (CMRIS) revealed, according to reporting by daily BirGün.

The overall rise in prices due to the fluctuations in the value of the Turkish lira impacts the Turkish Cypriots’ imports, loans, as well as higher education expenditures as they are indexed to the pound sterling, the euro and the US dollar.

The fall in the value of the Turkish lira has led to soaring inflation in food products. The inflation rate for food products reached 37.4 percent in Sept. 2021.

Local economists have long been in favor of adopting the euro though politicians tend to oppose it.

“The only obstacle to the adoption of the euro is a lack of political will on the part of our politicians to convey a message to Turkey,” Mustafa Besim, an Economics Professor at the Eastern Mediterranean University in Famagusta.

“This jacket does not fit us. This message needs to be delivered to Turkey. The Turkish economy has the capacity to endure the depreciation of the lira. That does not apply to our small economy,” he warned.

In recent months, an economic crisis has wracked Northern Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots have suffered shortages of certain basic goods as supply chains have crumbled, and many of them have begun to look for job opportunities on the Greek-controlled part of the island.