The Effect of EU Membership of the Southern Cyprus (Republic of Cyprus) on the Cyprus Question
Altuğ GünarThe island, which is a full member of the European Union as the Greek Cypriot Administration, is recognized as the Republic of Cyprus and has very strategic importance in the Mediterranean, has become the most important agenda item of international relations since the 1950s. There were initial attempts to solve the problem, which will be called the “Cyprus Question”, by Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, but the dimension of the problem changed after the involvement of the European Economic Community in the early 1960s. The Europeanization of the Cyprus Question by Greece in the process of candidateship and membership of Turkey created for Cyprus an insurmountable obstacle in the process of Turkey’s accession negotiations with the European Union. With the full membership of Southern Cyprus to the European Union, the government has gained the support of most of the countries in the international arena for the Cyprus Question. The aim of the study is to evaluate and analyze the impact of Southern Cyprus’s full membership to the European Union on the Cyprus Question. In this context, the concept of the “Cyprus Question” was firstly discussed, and then the relationship between the Greek Cypriot Administration and the European Union was discussed in the context of the full membership process, and finally, an attempt was made to conduct a descriptive analysis of the effects of the European Union Membership of the Greek Cypriot Administration on the Cyprus Question and the data obtained were examined under the titles created. As a result, the full membership of the Greek Cypriot Administration to the European Union has changed the size of the Cyprus Question, and today, it has been found that the problem is highly complicated with multi-actors and is sentenced to deadlock.
Güney Kıbrıs Rum Yönetimi’nin (Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti’nin) Avrupa Birliği Üyeliğinin Kıbrıs Sorununa Etkisi
Altuğ GünarGüney Kıbrıs Rum Yönetimi olarak Avrupa Birliği’ne üye olan ve Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti olarak tanınan, Akdeniz’de oldukça stratejik bir öneme sahip ada, 1950’li yıllardan itibaren uluslararası ilişkilerin en önemli gündem maddelerinden biri haline gelmiştir. “Kıbrıs Sorunu” olarak isimlendirilecek olan bu problem önce Yunanistan, Türkiye ve Birleşik Krallık arasında çözümlenmeye çalışılmış, ancak 1960’lı yılların başından itibaren Avrupa Ekonomik Topluluğu’nun Kıbrıs Sorununa dahil olmaya başlaması sonucu problem boyut değiştirmiştir. Yunanistan’ın, Kıbrıs Sorununu Türkiye’nin önce Avrupa Birliği’ne adaylık, daha sonra da üyelik sürecinde “Avrupalılaştırması”, üyelik sürecinde Türkiye ile Avrupa Birliği arasında Kıbrıs’ın aşılamaz bir engel olarak kalmasına neden olmuştur. Güney Kıbrıs Rum Yönetimi’nin Avrupa Birliği’ne üye olması ile birlikte üyeliğin getirmiş olduğu avantajlara sahip olan yönetim, Kıbrıs Sorununa yönelik olarak uluslararası alanda ülkelerin çoğunun desteğini elde etmiştir. Çalışmanın amacı, Güney Kıbrıs Rum Yönetimi’nin Avrupa Birliği’ne üyeliğinin Kıbrıs Sorunu üzerindeki etkisini değerlendirmek ve analiz etmektir. Bu bağlamda öncelikle “Kıbrıs Sorunu” olarak adlandırılan kavram tartışılmış, daha sonra ise Güney Kıbrıs Rum Yönetimi ile Avrupa Birliği arasındaki ilişki üyelik süreci bağlamında ele alınmış, son olarak ise Kıbrıs Rum Yönetimi’nin Avrupa Birliği üyeliğinin Kıbrıs Sorunu üzerindeki etkilerinin betimsel analiz yöntemi ile ele alınmasına gayret gösterilerek, elde edilen veriler, oluşturulan başlıklar içerisinde incelenmiştir. Sonuç olarak Güney Kıbrıs Rum Yönetimi’nin Avrupa Birliği’ne üye olmasının Kıbrıs Sorununun boyutunu değiştirerek, bugün problemin çok aktörlü, oldukça karmaşık ve bir o kadar da çözümsüzlüğe mahkûm edildiği bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır
Cyprus has had an important place in the foreign policies of countries geographically, economically, and politically for centuries. The island, which has a very important position in the Mediterranean, has possessed significance in terms of international relations since the United Kingdom changed its approach towards the island adopting a global vision in its foreign policy. As part of Disraeli’s foreign policy approach, Britain had control in Cyprus to protect the Suez Canal and Britain’s interests over India. With the 1880s, the importance of Cyprus for Britain decreased due to having control in Egypt. The Asquith government considered leaving Cyprus to Greece. The Greek Cypriots’ basic approaches were to unite with Greece, and the idea of uniting with Greece instead of remaining under British rule was encouraged in the community. In this context, The United Kingdom’s domination on the island began to deteriorate and social protests targeting the end of the United Kingdom’s presence on the island reached its climax. Indeed, the rivalry between the Church and AKEL for the representation of the island caused tensions to increase on the island. AKEL’s coalition assertion with nationalist feelings was not accepted by the Church, causing the organization of a plebiscite among the Churches on the island with the broad public support of the enosis. In the 1950s, developments that would cause a significant break in the Cyprus problem emerged. Cyprus had been an indispensable issue for Britain because of the jeopardy of the interests of the United Kingdom in the Eastern Mediterranean following the victory of Jamal Abdunnasir in Egypt. Greece has brought controversial Cyprus issue to the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in line with the principle of self-determination and has stressed that requests of the island people should be considered based on the future of the country. As a result of the developments, violent clashes occurred on the island, and violent acts were organized against other social groups who were in favour of peace, particularly the British. This situation led to the establishment of the Turkish Resistance Organization on the island and caused the emergence of the parties and the structure that would form the basis of the Cyprus problem. In line with the treaties between the United Kingdom, Turkey and Greece, The Republic of Cyprus was founded on the constitution that was agreed in 1960. The Republic of Cyprus, which was founded with the reconciliation between the communities and power-sharing axes, recognized Britain, Greece and Turkey’s right to intervene should the constitutional order be jeopardized, leaving out the division claims put forward by Turkey and Enosis by Greece. Based on the authority given by the Treaty of Guarantee, Turkey conducted a Peace Operation in 1974 which would later result in the establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983. Greece and the European Union blame this Peace Operation by Turkey as the starting point of the Cyprus problem. Turkey, on the other hand, considers the Peace Operation as an outcome in solving the problems in Cyprus. Despite the problems with Turkey, the partnership agreement between the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus and the European Union entered into force in 1973. Becoming a member of the European Community in 1981, Greece supported the partnership relations with the European Union and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus and Turkey’s relationship with the European Union was damaged because of Greece’s efforts in Cyprus. The Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus applied for full membership to the European Union in 1990 and the negotiation process between the parties started in 1998. Full membership negotiations between the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus and the European Union were completed, and the Greek Cypriot Administration became a full member of the European Union in 2004, starting to use the Euro as a currency in 2008 and also participating in the Euro area. The Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus’s application to the European Union without a comprehensive and complete solution in Cyprus and acceptance of the membership by the European Union transformed the problem into another dimension. The rejection of the Annan Plan by the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern and the preference for European Union membership caused a usurpation of the rights of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. After the European Union membership, the Cyprus problem was sentenced to a serious deadlock, leading to neglect of international law and treaties between the parties, resulting in a multilateral and highly complex international deadlock situation.
