The Guardianship of Turkey in EU Commission

The East Mediterranean and Cyprus: Economic and Political Relations: Cooperation and Integration from Past to Future. Girne: The American University of Cyprus. , 2010

Although there is not a single government in Cyprus that represents both the Greek and the Turkish Cypriot communities, and although the Government of Cyprus has not asserted its sovereignty over the Turkish Cypriot’s area since 1964, the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) became an European Union (EU) Member State on May 1, 2004 without a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union, 2011

Études helléniques / Hellenic Studies, 2003

In July 1990, Cyprus submitced its application to become a member of the European Communities (European Coal and Steel Community-ECSC, European Economie Community-EEC, and European Atomic Energy Community-EAEC). Ar rhar time, quice a few people had reservations about the prospects for a successful complerion of the long trip ro membership. Those reservarions, which evenrually proved ungrounded, had to do with the Cyprus problem which was seen as an obstacle to Cyprus's membership. The first encouraging signs came on June 30, 1993, when the European Commission issued irs Op inion on the App lication by the Republic of Cyp rus far Membership. Three monrhs later, on October 4, the Op inion was adopred by the Council of Ministers and became an official policy paper. At this early stage, the EU made it clear thar the geographical position and history, as well as the conremporary cultural, political, economic and social life of the Cypriot people "confer on Cyprus, beyond all doubt, its European identity and character and confirm irs vocation to belong to the Communiry."1 The EU went a srep furrher and sent a srrong positive message "to the authorities and the people of Cyprus confirming that the Community considers Cyprus as eligible for membership."z Ar the same rime, however, concern was expressed about the de facto division of the island and the fact rhar some fundamental freedoms and rights "would have ro be guaranteed as part of a comprehensive sertlement restoring constitutional arrangements covering the whole of the Republic of Cyprus."• 1 ln an obvious effort to put pressure on the parties involved, the Opinion stressed that "the need to promote a political serdemenr is ail the more paramount as the current situation would make it difficulr for Cyprus to accept and implement commitments made under the European Union Tr eaty. "•• The above questions, raised in the Op inion ten years ago, were the focus of a protracted debate and repeaced efforts to combine accession with a

The Republic of Cyprus became an independent state on 16 th August in 1960 after being declared formally as a Crown Colony on 10 th March in 1925 by the United Kingdom. The Constitution of the Republic, which came into effect on the day of independence, had its roots in agreements reached between the heads of government of Greece and Turkey in Zurich on 11 th February in 1959. These were incorporated in agreements reached between those governments and the United Kingdom in London on 19 th February. On the same day, the representatives of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities accepted the documents concerned, and accompanying declarations by the three governments, as "the agreed foundation for the final settlement of the problem of Cyprus". The agreements were embodied in treaties-the Treaty of Establishment and the Treaty of Guarantee, signed by Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, and the Treaty of Alliance, signed by Cyprus, Greece and Turkey-and in the constitution, signed in Nicosia on 16 th August in 1960. Republic of Cyprus was founded as a bi-communal state based on partnership between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. The Greek Cypriots proposed amendments to the Constitution, known as the Thirteen Points that entailed usurping the rights of Turkish Cypriots and degrading their equal co-founder status to that of a minority on the Island. Turkish Cypriots refused the Thirteen Points as an obligation to protect their treaty rights and do not recognize the situation created by the abuse of rights as legal. International community has an obligation not to recognize as lawful within the principle of ex injuria jus non oritur based on the peremptory norm of self-determination of peoples under Article 73 of the United Nations Charter, the situation created by the Greek Cypriots with the amendments to the Constitutional Treaty of 16 August 1960.

Ekonomik ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 2020

The Cyprus question is widely discussed in the diplomatic and academic circles since the Cold War era. During the Cold War years, the Cyprus question worried the Western Bloc due to the fact that the two NATO allies Turkey and Greece came face to face which may have been damaged the southern wing of NATO. In fact, the establishment of the Cyprus Republic with London and Zurich Treaties aimed to accomplish a solution different than Turkey's division of Cyprus and Greece's ENOSIS (Cyprus's integration with Greece) plans. However, it did not work and the Republic of Cyprus de facto ended with Greek Cypriot's attacked to the Turks in Christmas of 1963. After the Greece's backed military coup in Cyprus and overthrown of Makarious, Turkey conducted Cyprus Peace Operation to save Turks in the island in 1974. Turkey used its rights given by the Guarantee Agreements. All negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus question failed. Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus's application for the EU membership added the new parameter in the Cyprus issue. The Cyprus question continued in the post-Cold War era with the new parameters. The efforts to solve the question before the Cyprus's membership of the EU failed with the rejection of the Annan Plan from the Greek side in the referendum. As a result the Greek Administration of the Southern Cyprus became EU member and the Cyprus question remains unsolved. The developments in the international system also altered the parameters of the Cyprus question. In this paper the Cyprus question will be analyzed in the light of international developments and the Cyprus question's interactions with international system will be evaluated discussing possible scenarios in the issue.

2020

As dusk fell on 30 April 2004, the people of Greek Cypriot administration or Republic of Cyprus (RoC) began beatific chortle waiting for the day ahead, the day that has been wished many years back. The island become a new member of the EU on 1 May 2004, likewise Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The Turkey Cypriot administration or Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) remained out of the engagement until today. The EU enlargement in terms of admitting RoC to the bloc adds more complexity to the already Cypriot longstanding vendetta; it therefore invites much tension on Turkey’s side. Turkey has applied for the Union’s membership long time ago. The decision of the Union on whether or not to consider the Turkey’s bidding delays. Many experts adduce that the entrance of predominant Muslim country, but regional power and strategic nation like Turkey into the organization seldom win popularity among EU-group of nations. The ...

Yearbook of Polish European Studies, 2012

The main aim of this article is to show how the Cyprus dispute affected the preparations and achievements of the Republic of Cyprus's Presidency of the Council of the EU, and to present its implications with respect to relations between Turkey and the European Union. The author discusses the essence of the Cyprus dispute, namely the occupation of the northern part of the island by Turkish armed forces. Further, he describes the influence of Cyprus's integration with the EU on the EU-Turkey relations in the pre-Presidency period. The main part of the article focuses on the Cypriot Presidency, during which Cyprus did not entangle the other Member States in the problems of the divided island, but acted in the best interest of the entire EU. The reaction of the Turkish government, which boycotted the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus, is also characterised.

Chinese Journal of International Law, 2006

When the European Council in 2004 decided to open accession negotiations with Turkey, it linked Turkey's accession process with the Cyprus problem and made the signature of an Additional Protocol to the EC-Turkey Customs Union Agreement extending this Agreement to the ten ...