Together with Ireland, Cyprus is currently the only member of the European Union not to be part of Europe's border-free travel zone. After years of preparations and the implementation of 120 technical recommendations, Nicosia received a positive assessment from the European Commission in July, confirming its technical readiness. The recommendations, issued as part of EU evaluations dating back to 2021, covered areas including border controls, visa policy, access to European security databases and police cooperation.
Their implementation required technological upgrades as well as legislative and administrative reforms. On October 1, Cyprus's Deputy Minister for Migration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides, confirmed that "all recommendations made by the European Commission are now considered to have been implemented." According to Ioannides, Cyprus is technically ready to join Schengen, with the next step being to secure the necessary political agreement. However, a positive technical assessment alone is not enough for Cyprus to join the Schengen Area.
Accession requires a unanimous decision by the EU Council following consultation with the European Parliament. According to information obtained by DW, Austria and the Netherlands have already informally expressed reservations over security concerns linked to the Green Line, which divides the island of Cyprus, and the special status of the British Sovereign Base Areas. Although neither country has officially threatened to veto Cyprus's accession, their reservations carry particular weight.
Both Austria and the Netherlands have previously raised objections to the expansion of the Schengen Area to Bulgaria and Romania. Perhaps the most significant obstacle is the Green Line, the approximately 180-kilometer-long (112 miles) ceasefire line that has divided Cyprus since Turkey's military intervention in 1974. It separates the areas controlled by the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus from the Turkish-controlled northern part of the island.
The buffer zone is monitored by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), while the Green Line itself is not an internationally recognized state border. Crossings between the two sides take place at nine designated crossing points and are governed by a special EU regulation. This unique arrangement poses a challenge to Schengen membership, as the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control along the entire length of the line.
At the same time, Nicosia rejects any arrangement that could turn the Green Line into an external border, either legally or even symbolically. "The issue raised by some Schengen countries is that the Republic of Cyprus does not control the entire Green Line. It may control the crossing points, but there are also open stretches of land," Dr.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
