Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, though the island has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded
The European Union is prepared to take part in upcoming talks on the reunification of Cyprus, a European Commission spokesperson has said, effectively rejecting calls from the Turkish-occupied north for Europe to be excluded.
“We are ready to play an active role in this process, with all means and tools at our disposal,” the EU official told Euractiv.
The remarks come in response to comments by Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, who said earlier this week that Europe should remain absent from the talks.
“The common position of both Türkiye and ourselves is that the European Union cannot be one of the parties at the negotiating table,” Erhürman said, arguing that the EU’s involvement could compromise the neutrality of the process, given that Cyprus is an EU member state.
