Cyprus Mail 24 January 2026 - by Tom Cleaver
Cyprus “could take a decisive step” towards joining Europe’s open-border Schengen zone as soon as this spring, European Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner said on Friday.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, he said that the European Commission is expected to adopt its “special evaluation report” regarding Cypriot membership of the Schengen zone in the coming month.
“Once technical readiness is confirmed, it will be up to the Council [of the EU] to make a decision on accession,” he said.
That Council of the EU decision will be taken by EU members which are also inside the Schengen zone – all but Cyprus and Ireland – and must be unanimous for Cyprus to be able to accede. The European Parliament will also be required to vote in favour of Cypriot accession, though in this case, only a simple majority is required.
Brunner on Friday said that Cyprus has made “significant progress” in its efforts to fulfil the technical requirements for Schengen accession, and stressed that the commission “fully supports Cyprus’ efforts to join the Schengen area”.
To this end, he said, the commission is “working closely with the Cypriot authorities to achieve this goal”.
“Schengen remains one of the EU’s most tangible achievements, offering freedom of movement and boosting tourism, trade, and daily life across the union,” he said.
Those comments come after he had said following Thursday’s informal European justice and home affairs (JHA) council summit in Nicosia that Cypriot accession to the Schengen zone “would have a positive impact on the entire area”.
While he did not set a timetable for Cyprus’ joining of the zone, he said that “many improvements have been made in recent months”.
“We are doing everything we can to support Cyprus on its path towards Schengen,” he said.
He also made reference to the Green Line which separates the island in two, and said that while the issue is “a challenge”, and that this is “something we all know”, he is “optimistic that we can find a solution for the Green Line, of course, but also for Cyprus as a whole”.
To this end, he said that when considering Cyprus’ potential joining of the Schengen zone, he said that “the specific situation of Cyprus will be taken into account, while ensuring a high level of security for the Schengen area as a whole”.
While Brunner on Thursday stopped short of laying out a timetable for Cypriot accession, President Nikos Christodoulides has stated that it is his aim for the island to join the zone this year.
During a visit to Paris last month, he said Cyprus’ joining of the Schengen zone would be “a strategic decision, a development, for both the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union”.
Earlier, he had said that joining the Schengen zone this year is “our goal”, and that he and his government are working “with the aim of 2026, precisely, for the Republic of Cyprus to join the Schengen zone”.
Cyprus is one of just two EU member states left outside the Schengen zone, following the accession of Bulgaria and Romania at the beginning of this year, Ireland the only other EU member on the outside. Four non-EU members – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – are also Schengen members.
Reports published last year set out the likely requirements Cyprus must fulfil to be able to join the Schengen zone, with the country said to have been tasked with “strengthening [its] border controls”.
Particular attention on this front has been paid to the Green Line, which, while not de jure an external border, is said to “require strict controls” and is not exempt from EU frontier standards.
However, former Turkish Cypriot chief negotiator Ozdil Nami warned last month that the situation at the crossing points which connect the island’s two sides “will not be easier” than it is today if and when Cyprus joins the Schengen zone.
“I do not know what kind of problems will arise because of Schengen, because how the Greek Cypriots will proceed in this regard is also important. However, it is certain that things will not be easier than they are today,” he said.
He added that this “is not just about the speed of crossing”, but that “much stricter rules may be introduced” regarding who is allowed to cross, and that joining the Schengen area “may also have dimensions which affect trade” across the Green Line.
“We are completely outside of this,” he said.
On this front, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman had said last year that it is “extremely important” for the Turkish Cypriots to be involved in Cyprus’ accession to the Schengen area.
He warned that Schengen accession “has the potential to bring about many complications, especially in the area of freedom of movement” regarding Turkish Cypriots.
As such, he said, “it is extremely important for the Turkish Cypriot side to be involved in this process to bring the complications which may arise in the future onto the European Union’s agenda in a timely manner, and to produce solutions for them.
