Nicholas Ioannides told Cyprus’s parliament on 1 October that the island had fulfilled every recommendation set by the European Commission, ending years of technical work and placing its Schengen bid in the hands of EU politics.
Cyprus has implemented 120 recommendations from EU evaluations dating back to 2021, covering border controls, visa policy, access to European security databases and police cooperation. The Commission confirmed in July that Cyprus was technically ready to join the Schengen Area.
Ioannides, Cyprus’s Deputy Minister for Migration and International Protection, said on 1 October that all of the Commission’s recommendations were now considered implemented.
The progress leaves Cyprus and Ireland as the EU’s only members outside Europe’s border-free travel zone. Cyprus has been an EU member since 2004, while Ireland has a permanent opt-out to preserve the Common Travel Area with the United Kingdom.
Cyprus had already connected fully to the Schengen Information System in July 2023. It also received a 292 million euro EU allocation for border infrastructure.
Technical readiness has not settled the harder question. Formal talks among Schengen states began on 15 September 2024, when Greece, Italy and Spain backed Cyprus’s accession and Austria and the Netherlands abstained.
Austria and the Netherlands have since voiced informal reservations about security along the Green Line, which divides Cyprus, and the special status of the British Sovereign Base Areas. There are nine designated crossings between the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-controlled northern part of the island. Roughly 36 percent of Cyprus territory lies outside the effective control of the recognised government.
The Green Line is not an EU external border under EU Regulation 866/2004. Brussels has asked Cyprus to put its Green Line crossing procedures into EU law and improve checks at the two crossings into the British base areas.
An audit report also identified 289,599 non-EU nationals who entered Cyprus between 2014 and 2023 without a recorded departure as of 31 March 2024.
Schengen entry requires a unanimous EU Council decision after consultation with the European Parliament. Even after a Council vote, an implementation period of roughly six months is required before border arrangements change.
No joining date has been fixed. Cyprus is likely to enter Schengen in late 2027 or 2028, provided it secures the political consent that its technical preparations have yet to deliver.
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