EU Membership of an internally divided State – the Case of Cyprus

In July 2012 the Republic of Cyprus will take over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time. Within the period of six months, the respective members of the government of the Republic will chair all configurations of the Council with the sole exception of the Foreign Affairs Council. While the preparations run at full speed in Cyprus, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened that he would freeze all EU-Turkey relations during Cyprus' Presidency, due to the still unsolved conflict between the Greek and the Turkish Cypriot Community. This makes one aware of the fact that even though the insular state has formally acceded the Union as a whole, the factual membership of a united Cyprus seems to be still far out of sight. Although it looks like the situation has calmed down during the seven years of EU membership, in the context of Cyprus' prominent role within the EU apparatus, the controversy of the issue is under the spotlight again. The present article outlines current developments in Cyprus' EU relations such as the exceptional status of Turkish Cypriots as EU citizens and their representation within EU institutions, the practical implementation of the Green Line Regulation and the desperate efforts to stop the economic isolation of the north.