Treaty No 5476 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Greece and Turkey and Cyprus, which was signed and entered into force in Nicosia on 16 August 1960, concerns the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and includes the arrangements relating to the nationality of persons affected by this establishment, as well as the agreement on the territorial definition of this Republic. It also gives details on the geographical delimitation of the sovereign area belonging to the new Republic, and, by extension, the areas remaining under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
Le 6 septembre 1974, des membres du contingent canadien de la Force des Nations unies chargée du maintien de la paix à Chypre (UNFICYP) patrouillent à bord de véhicules blindés Lynx autour de la ligne de démarcation (ligne verte) à Nicosie.
Le 21 novembre 1974, des soldats de la Force des Nations Unies chargée du maintien de la paix à Chypre (UNFICYP) évacuent plus d'un millier de civils chypriotes grecs des villages de Gypsos et de Vone (district de Famagouste, situé à l'est de l'île), avant que ceux-ci ne passent sous contrôle des forces militaires turques.
Opérationnelle depuis le 27 mars 1964, la Force des Nations Unies chargée du maintien de la paix à Chypre (UNFICYP) a vu son mandat élargi et prorogé suite aux événements de 1974. Sur la photo, un casque bleu danois surveille la ligne de démarcation, longue de 180 kms, qui divise l'île en deux républiques distinctes séparant les Chypriotes grecs des Chypriotes turcs. Au nord, de cette zone tampon se trouve la République turque de Chypre-nord et au sud, la République de Chypre.
Le 12 mars 1998, le président chypriote Glafcos Cléridès invite les Chypriotes turcs à participer aux négociations d'adhésion de l'île à l'Union européenne.
Le 31 mars 1998, Robin Cook, ministre britannique des Affaires étrangères et président en exercice du Conseil de l'Union européenne, expose le cadre dans lequel se dérouleront les futures négociations d'adhésion avec la République de Chypre.
Le 19 avril 1999, dans le cadre de la troisième Conférence intergouvernementale entre l'Union européenne (UE) et Chypre, George Vassiliou, ancien président de la République de Chypre et négociateur en chef pour l'adhésion de l'île à l'UE, souligne les efforts accomplis par son pays pour se conformer à l'acquis communautaire.
Le 21 juin 1999, dans le cadre de la troisième Conférence intergouvernementale entre l'Union européenne (UE) et la République de Chypre, Ioannis Kasoulides, ministre chypriote des Affaires étrangères, commente l'état d'avancement des négociations d'adhésion de l'île à l'UE.
Le 10 octobre 2002 à Nicosie, Adrian van der Meer, le chef de la délégation de la Commission européenne à Chypre remet au président chypriote Glafcos Cléridès, une copie du rapport 2002 sur les progrès accomplis par Chypre en vue de son adhésion à l'Union européenne. A gauche, George Vassiliou, ancien président de la République de Chypre et négociateur en chef pour l'adhésion de l'île à l'UE.
Tassos Papadopoulos, président, et Georgios Iacovou, ministre des Affaires étrangères, signent le 16 avril 2003 à Athènes, en représentation de Chypre, le traité d'adhésion à l'Union européenne.
"Une chance pour l'Europe". Évoquant l'adhésion de Chypre à l'Union européenne, le caricaturiste Fritz Behrendt s'interroge sur l'avenir des relations turco-grecques et s'interroge sur la division de l'île.
Le 10 février 2004, les négociations entre les deux communautés chypriotes sur la base du plan de règlement de Kofi Annan, secrétaire général des Nations unies, s'ouvrent officiellement au siège des Nations unies à New York. De g. à dr.: Rauf Denktash (dirigeant chypriote-turc), Kofi Annan et Tassos Papadopoulos (Président de la République de Chypre).
Le 19 février 2004, en visite officielle à Nicosie, Alvaro de Soto (à gauche), conseiller spécial du secrétaire général des Nations Unies pour Chypre aborde avec Tassos Papadopoulos (à droite), président de la République de Chypre, la question du règlement de la crise chypriote.
Le 31 mars 2004, Kofi Annan, secrétaire général des Nations unies, présente son plan de réunification de l'île de Chypre. Une version "révisée et amendée" du plan sera soumise par référendum, le 24 avril 2004, aux communautés grecques et turques de l'île.
Le 21 avril 2004, à la veille du référendum chypriote sur l'unification de l'île, Kofi Annan, secrétaire général des Nations unies, assure les Chypriotes que le monde est prêt à les aider à assurer la réunification dans la sécurité.
Le 24 avril 2004, des citoyens chypriotes grecs, opposés à la réunification de Chypre telle que proposée dans le Plan de paix des Nations unies, manifestent dans le Eleftheria Square à Nicosie suite à l'annonce des résultats négatifs du référendum organisé le jour même sur la réunification de l'île.
On 3 December 2010, Markos Kyprianou, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, meets Vuk Jeremic, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, in Belgrade, where he conveys the stance adopted by the Republic of Cyprus on the potential accession of Serbia to the EU. Vuk Jeremic particularly refers to the close relations between the two countries and acknowledges the role of the Republic of Cyprus in the acceleration of his country’s process of EU accession.
On 12 January 2011, Demetris Christofias, President of the Republic of Cyprus, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, Markos Kyprianou, Cypriot Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Christoph Heusgen, Chancellor Merkel’s Adviser on Foreign and Security Policy, meet at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia. Following this meeting the President of the Republic of Cyprus comments on the significance of the visit by the German delegation and on the progress made in deepening bilateral relations between the two countries, and refers to the aspiration to create bridges of unification and solidarity between the Cypriot communities and the EU as part of the solution to the Cyprus issue. The proposed solution is the potential implementation of a federation based on the German model. The Cypriot President also makes reference to Turkey’s path to EU accession. The German Chancellor expresses an appreciation for the initiative taken by the Republic of Cyprus for the resolution of the Cyprus issue and expresses her support for the advancement of accession negotiations and, by extension, for the improvement of relations between Greece and Turkey.
On 25 January 2011, Markos Kyprianou, Cypriot Minister for Foreign Affairs, meets his Hungarian counterpart János Martonyi during a visit to Hungary and discusses with him the bilateral relations between their countries as well as Turkey’s path to EU accession, stating that the Republic of Cyprus supports this accession provided that Turkey fulfils all the necessary obligations for the adoption of the Community acquis.
On 24 March 2011 in Nicosia, Markos Kyprianou, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, meets Michael Spindelegger, Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs. During this meeting, they refer to issues including bilateral relations, the advancement of cooperation between their two countries, international and regional issues of mutual interest and Turkey’s EU accession process.
On 21 November 2011, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, speaks at the event ‘Preparing the presidency of the Republic of Cyprus: Reliability and efficiency’ held in Nicosia to present the aims of this presidency. These include strengthening relations between the EU and the European neighbourhood countries on the southern and eastern EU borders, especially with regard to the Mediterranean dimension of the EU.
On 25 January 2012, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, gives a lecture at the London School of Economics and Political Science on the role of the Republic of Cyprus in neighbourly relations and its adaptation to the European Union acquis. Reference is also made to the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU and to the potential accession of Turkey.
On 12 June 2012, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, gives a speech at the meeting of Heads of EU representations held in Nicosia in which she projects the role that the Cypriot Presidency is to play, especially regarding the EU’s enlargement process and the country’s contribution to the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood.
On 8 October 2012, at the annual Cyprus Economist Conference in Nicosia, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, makes a speech in which she emphasises the importance of strengthening the European Union’s neighbourhood relations. She affirms that this is one of the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, and stresses that the European Neighbourhood Policy and the successive enlargement processes are essential instruments and policies of the EU.
On 27 November 2012, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, gives an address at the opening session of the Berlin Security Conference in which she discusses issues such as EU security and defence policy in the area of EU border management, and by extension the relations of Cyprus with its geographical neighbours and historic partners in terms of stability, defence, cooperation and development.
On 27 November 2012, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus and Chair of the EU General Affairs Council on Enlargement, visits the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as part of a series of visits to EU candidate and potential candidate countries. During her visit, she attends various meetings to discuss the country’s potential accession to the EU and to highlight the importance of developing good neighbourly relations in line with the EU’s position.
On 3 December 2012, a meeting is held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nicosia between Erato Kozakou-Markoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, and Majlinda Bregu, Albanian Minister for European Integration, in order to discuss Albania’s potential accession to the EU. Highlights of the meeting include the assertion that EU enlargement in the Western Balkans is one of the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the expression of appreciation on the part of the Albanian Minister at Cypriot support for Albania’s European integration.
On 13 December 2012, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, debriefs the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on the conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) regarding EU–Russia relations, the situation in the Southern Neighbourhood and the enlargement package for the Western Balkans. In the debriefing, particular reference is made to the Southern Neighbourhood and the possibility of developing an initiative in the area of border security.
On 15 January 2013 in Nicosia, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, delivers a speech at the Inaugural Conference of the Cyprus Center for Intercultural Studies. She refers to the enlargement process as one of the EU’s soft power capabilities and discusses the effectiveness of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in making the advancement of this process one of its priorities, and the progress made by Turkey in fulfilling its obligations for EU accession.