1Chapter 2 Cyprus Nathalie Tocci and Tamara Kovziridze This chapter reviews the
impact of Europeanization on the Cyprus conflict. Since 1974, the UN has
developed increasingly detailed proposals for a bi-zonal, bi-communal
federation. But throughout the decades of failed negotiations the main parties
have essentially stuck to their negotiating positions. In the 1990s, with
Cyprus’ application for EU membership, the EU became a key external determinant
of the evolution of the conflict. Indeed, because of Cyprus’ accession process
and Turkey’s own aspirations to join the Union, the parties to the conflict
equate Europeanization with EU-ization. EU-ization in Cyprus has two dimensions:
the impact of the EU as a framework on conflict resolution efforts, and the
impact of the accession process on the parties in conflict. The latter dimension
of Europeanization has had both intended and unintended effects, which in turn
are likely to impinge on future developments in the eastern Mediterranean.The
existence and persistence of the Cyprus conflict is characterized by a
fundamental reluctance by all the principal parties involved to re-establish,
create or run a unified independent Cyprus in which Greek and Turkish Cypriots
coexist peacefully on the basis of a shared understanding of their political
equality. This reluctance is driven by the parties’ understanding of how they
could each attain their own objectives of self-determination, individual rights
and communal security. Their positions have revolved around a legalistic and
modernist discourse of absolute sovereignty, statehood and military power and
balance. Absolute and mutually exclusive positions have meant that fulfilling
the basic needs of one party entails negating those of the other. Cyprus’ EU
accession process in the 1990s affected both the incentives and the bargaining
positions of the principal parties. However, the impact of the accession process
did not meet the professed expectations of the member states, the Commission or
the Greek Cypriot government.
http://www.ecmi.de/jemie/indexauthor.html
[/img]
