04 February 2013

Reuters: At last EU has Cyprus leverage, but will it use it?

For the first time since Cyprus joined the European Union nearly a decade ago, its partners have financial leverage to press for a settlement of the island's almost 40-year division.

There is no sign that Brussels is preparing to use its advantage to achieve a reunification that narrowly eluded negotiators when the Mediterranean island joined the EU in 2004. Indeed the most powerful Member States, Germany and France, may be content to see the frozen Cyprus conflict fester rather than deal with the potential consequences of a resolution that would bring Turkey closer to EU membership.

The EU could use a financial rescue for Nicosia to try to secure direct trade access for the Turkish Cypriots that might prompt the Turks to lift the blockade. Some EU diplomats say it would be politically dangerous to apply diplomatic pressure by exploiting Cyprus's economic plight. Any linkage could backfire and benefit hardline nationalists on both sides, they warn. Sceptics say it suits Berlin and Paris just fine to keep the Cyprus problem in long-term stalemate, because that prevents Turkey advancing towards the EU's door.

While Brussels may temporarily have more leverage over the Greek Cypriots, its sway over Turkey has shrunk, and the Turkish Cypriots elected hardliner Dervis Eroglu as president in 2010. He favours independence for the self-styled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

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