At home, the administration continues to promote hopes of imminent peace developments.
The Christodoulides administration has charted a new course by pursuing full Schengen membership regardless of whether the Cyprus problem is resolved, marking a break from previous governments. According to positions obtained by Kathimerini ("K"), Nicosia assured Brussels and EU member states that the island's ongoing division will be managed and "will not harm the Schengen zone." Speaking before a competent EU committee, a Cypriot representative acknowledged that while the Green Line and British Bases present distinct legal and political challenges rooted in occupation and constitutional history, Cyprus will handle them without disrupting European security. However, this multi-year push creates a sharp contrast with the administration's domestic messaging, which continues to promise local voters rapid progress toward a peace settlement.
As this position shows, the Christodoulides government considers it rather unlikely that there will be a solution to the Cyprus problem soon. This comes despite statements by the President of the Republic, who had announced serious developments by the end of the current year 2026, including a plan for the solution of the national problem of Cyprus. Indeed, when you consider that no country has joined the Schengen area before at least three years of political consultations in the Council have elapsed (after a positive technical evaluation by the Commission), we face a highly contradictory picture. Within this framework, the government is paving the ground and preparing the EU for Cyprus's full accession to the Schengen Treaty after a few years without a solution to the Cyprus problem, even providing assurances that it will "manage the challenges" that arise. At the same time, it launches an entirely different narrative to the domestic audience, creating an image of a prospect for a solution to the Cyprus problem even within 2026, with whatever that entails and whatever one can gather from it.
The line of full participation of Cyprus in the Schengen Treaty, regardless of a solution to the Cyprus problem, was charted for the first time by the Christodoulides government. No other government after accession to the EU (Tassos Papadopoulos, Demetris Christofias, and Nicos Anastasiades) pursued anything similar, considering that it would hamper the prospects for resolving the Cyprus problem while creating a hard border between the free and occupied areas. Nicos Christodoulides had not appeared to disagree with this position when he served as government spokesman and Foreign Minister of the Anastasiades government, but he never sought to differentiate himself, even verbally, from Nicosia's long-standing policy regarding the full participation of Cyprus in the Schengen Treaty without a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Converging information obtained by "K" states that Nicosia is looking toward full participation in the Schengen zone or securing a specific accession date before the presidential elections of February 2028 in Cyprus. Joining Schengen places Cyprus in the hard core of the EU, which includes member states participating in both the Eurozone and Schengen. Obviously, the government considers that this step will also facilitate travel for Cypriot citizens in united Europe and will function as a "supportive spot" in Nicos Christodoulides's effort for re-election to the highest office of the Cypriot state.
Protocol 10 and grey zones
Nicosia's positions took place on July 3, when the Commission presented the evaluation report on Cyprus's technical readiness to participate fully in the Schengen area as an Information Point, meaning without discussion. Besides, as we reported, the report secured the green light from the Schengen Committee on June 26. The next step is estimated to take place in the autumn, most likely in September, within the framework of the competent working group of the Council. That step will launch discussions among member states, who will have the final say on the timing as well as the full participation of Cyprus in the Schengen area.
In the context of the July 3 presentation process by the European Commission, Nicosia expressed satisfaction with the Commission's positive evaluation. According to information obtained by "K", Nicosia made specific reference to separating the fulfilment of technical criteria from political issues. These issues relate, on the one hand, to the Green Line, the free movement of European citizens, and safeguarding the Schengen area, and on the other hand, to strengthening surveillance in the control area of the British Bases.
The same information states that the representative of Cyprus mentioned: "We welcome the confirmation contained in the report (editor's note: of the Commission) that controls of persons along the Green Line and at the British Bases are complete and effective, while the monitoring systems were evaluated as being of very high operational standards". The Foreign Ministry representative further stated: "Moreover, the report confirms that any future arrangements will continue to be based on Protocol 10 of the 2003 Act of Accession and the existing legal framework of administration of the British Bases".
In any case, the Commission's evaluation report, which was revealed by "K", also refers to the "political particularities" of Cyprus as they arise from the absence of a solution to the Cyprus problem and the presence of the British Bases. It asks that crossing measures across the Green Line appear with greater clarity and detail at the level of Union law. Regarding the two checkpoints at the British Bases, it brings up strengthening them to ensure a level of security comparable to that of the EU against irregular migration and threats to public order.
Although the positive technical evaluation report represents an important card for Nicosia, the "political particularities" and grey zones of the Green Line and the British Bases may complicate discussions in the Council. It is obviously no coincidence that, according to information obtained by "K", the head of the Schengen Directorate, Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, described the present stage as "very critical" and suggested a "coordinated, steady, and documented diplomatic effort" so that the technical progress recorded by Cyprus "is translated into a political decision".
Two teams of experts for Green Line-British Bases
According to information obtained by "K", the indications in the Commission's evaluation report led to the establishment of two expert teams. The report requires Nicosia, on the one hand, to reflect the measures taken at the Green Line with greater clarity and detail at the level of Union law and, on the other hand, to strengthen surveillance at the British Bases so as to ensure a level of security comparable to that of the EU against irregular migration and threats to public order.
As we understand, a Foreign Ministry representative stated on July 3 before officials of the Commission and the member states that two separate expert teams have been established and are working closely with the European Commission and the Law Office in order to satisfy the two conditions set by Brussels.
First, they are working for a legal instrument in order to provide legal certainty and coherence, as requested, regarding existing controls at the Green Line, without placing obstacles to the free movement of all Cypriots and their family members within Cyprus, and with arrangements that will prohibit any illegal movement within the Schengen zone (intra-Schengen).
Second, they are working for operational arrangements to ensure a comparable level of controls at crossing points managed by the British Bases police, in close cooperation with the Cyprus Police.
The representative of Cyprus further stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a mechanism that coordinates all co-competent services and ensures continuous monitoring and implementation of the Schengen acquis.
Nicosia's moves are recorded by Brussels with a positive sign, as a Community source told "K". However, the same source kept its distance regarding the political decision that the member states will be called upon to take, avoiding predicting both the content and the timeframe required to secure Cyprus's full participation in the Schengen area. The source characterized as "a likely possibility that additional assurances will be required" from Nicosia to its partners in order to make it clear beyond any doubt that "Cyprus's particularities" will not create conditions for irregular migratory flows through Cypriot airports and ports toward countries participating in the Schengen area.
The same Community source also kept its distance from controls that European partners might require at the checkpoints and regarding a possible requirement to establish a mechanism similar to the one existing at the airports and ports of the Republic of Cyprus. If that happens, it will create the image of a hard border between the free and occupied areas.
A source in Nicosia, however, assured "K" that there will be no change on the ground and that there will be no additional requirements regarding the controls taking place at the crossing points on the Green Line. Besides, Philippa Karsera Christodoulides pointed this out in an internal note from the Foreign Ministry prepared during the approval of the Commission's evaluation report, noting that "there is no concern" and that the status of the Green Line will not be affected by the controls that will take place as a consequence of full participation in Schengen. "Those who move legally today will continue to do so," Ms. Karsera Christodoulides concluded.
