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.

On 6 September 1974, members of the Canadian contingent of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) patrol the demarcation line (‘Green Line’) in Nicosia in Lynx armoured vehicles.

On 21 November 1974, soldiers from the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) evacuate over a thousand Greek Cypriot civilians from the villages of Gypsos and Vone, in Famagusta District, at the east of the island, before they come under the control of the Turkish military forces.

The mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), in operation since 27 March 1964, was widened and extended following the events of 1974. The photo shows a Danish UN peacekeeper monitoring the 180-km-long demarcation line that divides the island into two distinct republics separating the Greek Cypriots from the Turkish Cypriots. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus lies to the north of this buffer zone, and the Republic of Cyprus to the south.

On 12 March 1998, the Cypriot President, Glafcos Clerides, calls on Turkish Cypriots to participate in the negotiations on the island’s accession to the European Union.

On 31 March 1998, Robin Cook, British Foreign Secretary and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, outlines the framework in which the forthcoming accession negotiations with Cyprus will be conducted.

On 19 April 1999, during the third Intergovernmental Conference between the European Union (EU) and Cyprus, George Vassiliou, former President of the Republic of Cyprus and Chief Negotiator for the island’s accession to the EU, emphasises the efforts made by his country to comply with the Community acquis.

On 21 June 1999, during the third Intergovernmental Conference between the European Union (EU) and Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, Cypriot Foreign Minister, comments on the state of negotiations for the island’s accession to the EU.

On 10 October 2002, in Nicosia, Adrian van der Meer, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Cyprus, submits to the Cypriot President, Glafcos Clerides, a copy of the 2002 report on the progress made by Cyprus towards accession to the European Union. On the left stands George Vassiliou, former President of the Republic of Cyprus and Chief Negotiator for Cyprus’ accession to the EU.

On 16 April 2003, in Athens, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, and his Foreign Minister, Georgios Iacovou, sign the Treaty of Accession of Cyprus to the European Union.

‘A chance for Europe.’ In the light of Cyprus’ forthcoming accession to the European Union, the cartoonist, Fritz Behrendt, considers the future of Turkish-Greek relations and speculates over the division of the island.

On 10 February 2004, negotiations between the two Cypriot communities, on the basis of the plan for a political settlement devised by the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, are officially opened at the seat of the United Nations in New York. From left to right: Rauf Denktash (Turkish Cypriot leader), Kofi Annan and Tassos Papadopoulos (President of the Republic of Cyprus).

On 19 February 2004, on an official visit to Nicosia, Alvaro de Soto (on the left), United Nations Special Adviser on Cyprus, discusses the settlement of the Cyprus crisis with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos (on the right).

On 31 March 2004, Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, presents his plan for the reunification of the island of Cyprus. A ‘revised and amended’ version of the plan is put to the island’s Greek and Turkish communities in a referendum on 24 April 2004.

On 21 April 2004, in the run-up to the referendum due to be held in Cyprus on the unification of the island, Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, reassures the Cypriot people that the world is ready to help them to achieve unification in security.

On 24 April 2004, Greek Cypriot citizens opposed to the reunification of Cyprus as proposed in the United Nations peace plan demonstrate in Eleftheria Square in Nicosia following the announcement of the ‘No’ vote in the referendum on the reunification of the island held the same day.

‘Cyprus sets up home in Europe.’ On 28 April 2004, after the rejection by Greek Cypriots of the United Nations plan for the unification of Cyprus, German cartoonist Sakurai takes an ironic look at the prospects of seeing a united island of Cyprus within the European Union.

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.