Turkey accession and Cyprus[fr][de] 

Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960. Three years later, inter-communal violence broke out between the Mediterranean island’s Greek and Turkish communities, which eventually led to a Greek-sponsored attempt in 1974 to seize the government and a military intervention by Turkey. In 1983, the Turkish-held northern part of the island declared itself the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC). However, the TRNC is recognised by Ankara only. 

Since then the island has been divided, despite repeated efforts under the auspices of the UN to bring the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities to the negotiating table. 

In April 2004, the Greek Cypriots rejected while the Turkish Cypriots approved in a referendum a UN-sponsored unity plan, known as the Annan Plan. 

In May 2004, the Greek Cypriot-controlled 'Republic of Cyprus' became a full member of the EU. 

In December 2004 at the European Council summit EU leaders agreed to open accession talks with Turkey on 3 October 2005. One of the conditions specified was for Ankara to extend a 1963 association agreement with the EU’s predecessor, the European Economic Community, to the Union’s ten new member states. This group includes the Greek Cypriot state, which is not recognised by Turkey. 

In July 2005, Turkey signed a protocol extending its customs union to the EU-10 states, but at the same time Ankara issued a declaration saying that its signature did not mean its recognition of the Republic of Cyprus. Turkey also refused to open its ports and airports to Cyprus.

Meanwhile, on 17 April 2005, pro-EU and pro-unification candidate Mehmet Ali Talat was elected president of the self-declared TRNC. He replaced 81-year-old Rauf Denktash in the post.

Following a series of debates among the EU-25 states, the Council on 3 October 2005 decided to open accession talks with Turkey.

On 29 November 2006, the Commission recommended the partial suspension of talks, because Turkey had refused to implement the Ankara Protocol and open its trade to vessels from Cyprus. On 11 December 2006 EU foreign ministers agreed to follow a Commission recommendation to sanction Turkey and suspend talks on eight of 35 areas.

The most comprehensive attempt to date to resolve the decades-old conflict dates from 11 November 2002, when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presented his 137-page “Plan for Cyprus Settlement”. The plan assumed the involvement of the leaders of the Greek and the Turkish Cypriot communities, as well as the representatives of guarantor states Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom. 

The Annan Plan proposed the establishment of the United Cyprus Republic. It aimed to bring the island's two communities into a loose confederation of two equal constituent states based largely on the Swiss model.

However, Annan’s last-ditch effort was sunk by the April 2004 referendum. It was rejected by the Greek Cypriot community by three to one. The main arguments against the plan were that it was considered undemocratic, unworkable and unviable. Furthermore, it was seen by the Greek Cypriot community as a scheme that would cement the division of the island permanently.

Since then, viable reunification initiatives have been slow in coming. Meanwhile, the Cyprus issue has been moved into the EU sphere by the Council’s 17 December 2004 decision, which gave Turkey a date for opening accession talks on condition that a solution is reached to the Cyprus problem by October 2005. 

In October 2005, a "people's proposal" seeking a just settlement in Cyprus by way of a Constitutional Convention was presented officially in Brussels.

In January 2006, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul unveiled an "action plan", under which the sides to the conflict should open high-level meetings under the auspices of the UN by the middle of 2006. The plan also calls for Turkey to fully implement the Ankara protocol and for the Republic of Cyprus to open its ports and airports to northern Cyprus.

The Commission continuously urges Turkey to recognise the Republic of Cyprus and open its ports and airports to traffic from there. Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has said that the customs union additional protocol must be ratified by the Turkish parliament. "This issue involves the Greek Cypriots. Unless the Turkish parliament ratifies the additional protocol, going ahead in [the accession] negotiations will not be possible".