Cyprus will solve all the technical issues needed to enter the Schengen free travel zone by the end of this year, Cypriot President Nikos Christodulidis said. TASR informs about this according to Saturday’s report of the web portal Politico.
“We have addressed all political concerns regarding the ceasefire line and are now finalizing the technical details necessary for entry,” Christodulidis told a news conference in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia on Friday evening.
He emphasized the benefits that the Schengen area membership would bring to Cyprus – especially in the field of tourism and investments. According to him, this process is supervised by a specialized team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Cyprus has been a member state of the European Union since 2004. Although Cypriots have free movement within the 27-member bloc, the island itself in the eastern Mediterranean is not yet part of the Schengen area, which also includes countries outside the EU.
However, Cyprus is an exceptional case, as the island has been divided since 1974 between the Republic of Cyprus in the south and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
If Cyprus enters the Schengen area without resolving this issue, the so-called the green line, currently a buffer zone under UN supervision, will become the EU’s “hard” external border, experts warn.
This change would require passport controls at border crossings, changing their status.
EU officials warn that Cyprus’ full membership of the Schengen area would require changes to the demarcation line regulation that governs movement across the divided island.
Christodulidis also said that Cyprus is in the final stages of lifting the US visa requirement for Cypriot tourists. A delegation from the United States is expected to visit Cyprus soon to address the issue.
Schengen is the largest free travel area in the world. Border controls between France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were first abolished in 1985. The Schengen area currently unites 29 countries (25 of the 27 member states and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and 420 million people.
