Schengen Zone, Photo: Karaboux / Dreamstime.com
Cyprus will resolve all the technical issues necessary to join the Schengen free zone by the end of this year, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said, as quoted by Politico. The Cypriot leader also announced that his country is in the final stages of inclusion in the Visa Waiver program, reports News.ro.
Cyprus and Ireland, which have no land borders with other EU countries, are the only EU member states that are not part of the Schengen area, after Romania and Bulgaria they became full members of the area in which they travel from January 1 without passports.
“We have addressed all the political concerns regarding the demarcation line and we are now finalizing the technical details necessary for accession,” Christodoulides said during a conference in Nicosia late Friday. He emphasized the benefits that accession to Schengen will bring to Cyprus, especially in terms of tourism and investments. A dedicated team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is overseeing the process, the Cypriot official added.
Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 2004. While Cypriots enjoy freedom of movement within the 27-country bloc, the eastern Mediterranean island is not yet part of the Schengen area, which also includes countries outside the EU.
However, Cyprus is a unique case, because the island has been divided since 1974 between the Republic of Cyprus in the south and the north occupied by Turkey. If Cyprus joins Schengen without solving this problem, the green line, currently a buffer zone, will become the troubled external border of the EU, experts warn.
This change would require passport checks at crossing points, thus changing their status and potentially increasing tensions. EU officials have warned that full accession to the Schengen area will require changes to the Green Line Regulation, which regulates movement on the divided island.
Christodoulides also stated that Cyprus is in the final stages of eliminating the US visa requirement for Cypriot travelers. An American delegation is expected to visit Cyprus soon on the matter, and announcements should follow soon.
Romania has also been admitted to the Visa Waiver program, it was announced this week in Washington and Bucharest.
