European Commission confirms Cyprus’ readiness for Schengen — Deutsche Welle
The European Commission has confirmed Cyprus’ technical readiness to join the Schengen area. At the same time, the country’s final accession requires a unanimous decision by the Council of the EU after consultations with the European Parliament, Deutsche Welle reports.
Cyprus and Ireland currently remain the only EU member states outside Europe’s free-movement area. Nicosia received a positive assessment from the European Commission in July after implementing 120 technical recommendations on border control, visa policy, access to European security databases and police cooperation.
On October 1, Cyprus’ Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides, said that all European Commission recommendations were considered fulfilled. According to him, the country’s next step is to obtain the necessary political consent.
Concerns of Austria and the Netherlands
According to DW, Austria and the Netherlands have unofficially expressed security concerns related to the Green Line that divides the island, as well as the status of the British Sovereign Base Areas. Neither country has officially stated an intention to block Cyprus’ accession, but their position carries weight: Vienna and The Hague previously objected to extending Schengen to Bulgaria and Romania.
The Green Line, approximately 180 kilometres long, divides the territories controlled by the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and the northern part of the island controlled by the Turkish side. The buffer zone is monitored by the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus. The line is not an internationally recognised state border, and crossings between the two parts of the island take place at nine designated points.
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Nasya Hadjigeorgiou, an expert at UCLan Cyprus, noted that the Republic of Cyprus controls the crossing points but not the entire length of the Green Line. In her view, full control requires either a settlement of the Cyprus issue or the creation of a strictly controlled physical border.
The issue of British bases
An additional complication is the British Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which remained under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom after Cyprus gained independence in 1960. Together, they cover 254 square kilometres, or almost 3% of the island’s area.
Two crossing points, Pergamos and Strovilia, are located in the Dhekelia area, where checks are carried out by British authorities. According to DW, Nicosia and the administration of the British bases have already begun discussing updates to border-control procedures to bring them in line with EU requirements.
Cyprus has intensified diplomatic contacts to reach a consensus. On October 1, Ioannides held bilateral meetings with counterparts from Austria, the Netherlands and Finland in Luxembourg. On October 7, the leaders of nine Mediterranean EU states supported the timely completion of the procedure for Cyprus’ accession to the Schengen area in a joint declaration.
