The Cypriot Fiasco: A Negative Signal For EU Enlargement to Turkey and the Western Balkans

In 2004, the EU was enlarged to include a divided Republic of Cyprus. Although negotiations have been conducted with the Greek Cypriots (southern zone), only a majority of Turkish Cypriots (northern zone) voted in favor of the UN plan (a federal state within the EU). Today, EU law is implemented only in the South even though all Cypriots are now EU citizens. The Cypriot fiasco raises many questions about enlargement to Turkey, whose government considers that it is free of all criticism, having accepted the fifth and last version of the UN plan, but also to the Western Balkans (the former Yugoslavia and Albania), which are experiencing similar problems to those of Cyprus, namely sovereignty, minorities, and international status (Kosovo). Beyond this, the question of the extension of the European and North Atlantic security community is also raised.