2022-2023 Cyprus Country Report

CYPRUSCOUNTRY REPORT 2022
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Cyprus joined the EU on 1 May 2004
together with nine other European
countries. Under the terms of its accession
the entire island is considered technically
to be a member of the European Union,
despite its continued division and the
fact that the government of the Republic
has no effective authority in the northern
part of the island. However, the terms
of the acquis communautaire, the EU’s
body of laws, have been suspended in the
north. Cyprus has historically followed a
non-aligned foreign policy, although it
increasingly identifies with the West in
its cultural affinities and trade patterns
and maintains close relations with
Greece. Turkey refuses to recognise the
government of the Republic of Cyprus, The Presidential Palace
arguing that the latter – as established by
the Constitution of 1960 – ceased to exist when the intercommunal violence that broke
out in December 1963 ended Turkish Cypriot participation in government. As a result,
Turkey still refuses to allow Cypriot-flagged vessels access to its ports, despite pressure
from the European Union. Cyprus is a member of the United Nations and most of
its agencies, as well as the Commonwealth of Nations, World Bank, International
Monetary Fund and Council of Europe. In addition, the country has signed the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency Agreement (MIGA).
POLITICAL PARTIES
Dominant
Political Parties:
Democratic Rally (DISY),
a right-wing party
Progressive Party of
the Working People (AKEL),
a left-wing party
Democratic Party (DIKO),
a centre-right party
Smaller
Political Parties:
Movement of Social Democracy
(EDEK), a social democratic party
Ecologists Movement, also known
as the Cyprus Green Party
Democratic Front (DIPA), a
centrist political party
National People’s Front (E.L.A.M.),
an ultranationalist party
13