a. The accession process

The EU and Cyprus signed an Association Agreement in December 1972 that was complemented by a Protocol concluded in 1987. It constitutes the legal framework for current EU-Cyprus relations. A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), consisting of members of the European Parliament and of the Chamber of Representatives of Cyprus, was set up in 1991. It meets twice a year. Cyprus also benefits from regional and horizontal measures under the MEDA Programme (principal financial instrument of the European Union for the implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership). The office of the Delegation of the European Commission was opened in Nicosia in May 1990.

The Republic of Cyprus applied for membership in July 1990 In 1993 the Commission concluded that the application was made in the name of the whole island. On 6 March 1995, the General Affairs Council Conclusion confirmed Cyprus's suitability for membership and established that accession negotiations with Cyprus would start 6 months after the end of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). A structured dialogue was initiated in order to discuss areas where Cyprus had to make efforts to adapt to the EU's legal system and policies. The European Council in Luxembourg (1997) confirmed that accession negotiations would begin in spring 1998. The Turkish Cypriots were invited to be included in the Cypriot delegation. The accession negotiations started on 30 March 1998.

Substantial accession negotiations, particularly on the adoption and implementation of the EU legislation began in November 1998 and were concluded at the Copenhagen European Council in December 2002. The accession negotiations included 29 sectorial chapters, the chapter on "institutions" and on the chapter "miscellaneous". Transitional arrangements have been agreed upon in nine chapters. In parallel the European Commission drew up each autumn a Regular Report on the progress of each of the candidate countries on the way towards accession. In these reports, the Commission services identify the remaining shortcomings and tasks to be carried out prior to accession to meet the political, economic and legal "Copenhagen criteria" for accession, with particular emphasis on enforcement and institutional capacity. The latest Regular Report on Cyprus was published on 9 October 2002.
.
The European Council in Brussels of March 2003 regretted that the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General to find a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem have failed. The EU strongly supports the continuation of the Secretary General's mission of good offices and of negotiations on the basis of his proposals. It urges all parties concerned to spare no effort towards a just, viable and functional settlement and, in particular, the Turkish Cypriot leadership to reconsider its position. The European Council reaffirms its decisions taken at Copenhagen where it confirmed that Cyprus would be admitted as new Member State to the European Union on 1 May 2004 and underlined its strong preference for accession by a united Cyprus. The EU is ready to accommodate the terms of a political settlement in the accession of a united Island in line with the principles on which the European Union is founded. A specific protocol on Cyprus is attached to the Accession Treaty which foresees that in the absence of a settlement, the application of the acquis shall be suspended to the northern part of the island until the Council decides unanimously otherwise, on the basis of a proposal by the Commission. In other words: the door is open for the integration of the Turkish Cypriots in the EU.

b. Financial co-operation and Pre-Accession Assistance

In the past, four financial protocols on financial co-operation were signed between the EU and the Republic of Cyprus, covering a period of 22 years (1978 till 1999). During this time, € 210 Million were made available under the form of loans (152 M€), grants (51 M€), and risk capital (7 M€). The main target sectors were Small and Medium Enterprises, Environment, Energy and Transport.

Since 2000, pre-accession aid is available to Cyprus for an amount of 57 M€ to be programmed over 5 years (2000-2004). The new Financial Regulation on the "implementation of the pre-accession strategy" for Cyprus (and Malta) will ensure, like for all Candidate Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, that assistance is targeted towards pre-accession investment priorities, institution-building priorities and support in economic and social cohesion. Additionally, the regulation foresees to support "any operations to contribute to the reconciliation of the two Cypriot communities." This support is provided via what is called the "bi-communal" projects. For all harmonisation operations, co-financing is being sought being it national (compulsory), or with other donors (Member States, International Financing Institutions).

In 2000, the € 9 million available for Cyprus were broken down for harmonisation projects (5 M€), for bi-communal projects (3 M€), for co-financing Cyprus participation in 3 Education and Training Community Programmes (1 M€). In the year 2001, the EU provided € 11,5 million to support projects for institution building, adoption of the acquis, and bi-communal activities, and to help meet the costs of Cyprus' participation in EC programmes and Agencies. In 2002, while bi-communal projects focused on the civil society (Business Support Programme and Small Projects Fund, for 2,6 M€), harmonisation projects targeted sectors such as agriculture, telecom, maritime transport and statistics. In total € 11,5 million were also programmed that year for Cyprus. Finally with 2003, the Commission will normally end its pre-accession support to Cyprus with a package of € 12 million to be approved in the first quarter of 2003. This programming exercise is likely to have a strong focus on both environment and economic and social cohesion. Cyprus also participates in, and benefits from, MEDA funded multi-country and horizontal programmes, and from the TAIEX instrument.

While 2001 was the year of decentralisation of EU assistance to Cyprus (on the PHARE model), 2003 will probably be the year of extended decentralisation ("EDIS: Extended Decentralisation System") of the EU assistance to the island; an additional step in the process of decentralisation allowing Cyprus to assume a larger responsibility over the implementation of EU pre-accession assistance, in line with the orientations of the future Structural Funds. Cyprus should be the first of the Candidate Countries to be granted such autonomy by the Commission.

 

For further Information:

http://www.cyprus-eu.org.cy
http://www.eic.ac.cy