President Nikos Christodoulides used his first bilateral meeting with the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, held on 22 September on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, to push for London’s political backing of Cyprus’ long-standing ambition to join the Schengen Area. According to the read-out released on 23 September, the Cypriot leader briefed Burnham on the technical progress already achieved since Cyprus passed its Schengen evaluation earlier this year and underlined the economic upside that full membership would bring to both countries. Entry into Schengen would abolish systematic passport checks for travellers flying between Cyprus and the EU mainland, cut waiting times at Larnaca and Pafos airports, and simplify posting staff between the island and corporate hubs such as London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. It would also remove the last remaining visa hurdle for thousands of UK holiday-home owners and retirees, who since Brexit have been limited to 90 days’ stay in any 180-day period. Burnham welcomed what he called the “substantial deepening” of UK-Cyprus relations and signalled that London is ready to support Nicosia’s request at Council level once the file reaches ministers. Although the United Kingdom is no longer an EU member, it remains one of the three guarantor powers of the Republic of Cyprus and wields influence in Brussels on security questions. Officials accompanying Christodoulides said the government hopes for a political decision on accession before the end of 2027, when the next multi-year EU Justice and Home Affairs programme is to be adopted. For multinational companies that base regional shared-service centres on the island, Schengen membership could be transformative. It would align Cyprus with the EU’s Entry/Exit System and forthcoming ETIAS travel authorisation, allowing executives and technical staff to move across borders without time-consuming passport stamping. In the words of one Big-Four mobility manager contacted by the Cyprus International Business Association, “Schengen would put Cyprus on par with Malta or Ireland in terms of ease of rotation – and that will feed straight into location decisions.” The meeting also touched on British Sovereign Base Areas and regional security, but officials stressed that mobility and trade facilitation dominated the conversation. Next steps include a technical dialogue between Cypriot, UK and European Commission experts in October and a road-show to Brussels aimed at winning over member-state sceptics concerned about Cyprus’ external maritime border with Lebanon and Syria.
Source: Politis
