Accommodating the Cyprus Issue
in the European Union’s political and legal order
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Speaker
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Dr Nikos Skoutaris
A.N. Hadjiyiannis Senior Research Fellow, Hellenic Observatory, LSE
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Chair
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Dr Spyros Economides
Senior Lecturer, International Relations and European Politics;
Hellenic Observatory Deputy Director, LSE
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Date
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Tuesday, 4 December 2012
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Abstract
Despite the partial normalisation of the relations between the two ethno-religious segments on the island, Cyprus’ accession to the EU neither meant its reunification nor the restoration of the human rights or the complete lift of the political and economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community. Ironically enough, the accession of the island to the EU added a new dimension to its division.
According to Protocol 10 on Cyprus of the Act of Accession 2003, the application of the acquis is ‘suspended in those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not have effective control.’
The scope of the talk is twofold: on the one hand it provides for a concise but accurate analytical framework of the derogations to the suspension of the acquis and on the other, it assesses the pragmatic approach that the Union has adopted when dealing with issues arising from the conflict such as the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, the “settlers” etc.
The main thesis of the paper is that although the application of the acquis is suspended in northern Cyprus, the territorial character of the suspension has allowed a limited integration of those Areas within the EU. In addition and with regard to a possible future settlement of the Cyprus issue, the paper argues that the Union is ‘ready to accommodate the terms of such a settlement in line with the principles on which the EU is founded.’
Photos
Dr Nikos Skoutaris & Dr Spyros Economides (chair)
Dr Nikos Skoutaris presenting his Research on the Cyprus Issue
Part of the audience in the Cañada Blanch Room on the 4th December