Schengen for the Republic of Cyprus is delayed: what this could mean for the TRNC

The European Commission, in its new report on the Schengen area, has confirmed that the process of the Republic of Cyprus joining Schengen currently remains at the stage of evaluation, monitoring, and technical preparation. Despite statements from the Republic of Cyprus regarding significant progress, a final decision on accession is still far off.

According to the report, the European Commission acknowledges that the Republic of Cyprus has achieved certain successes in preparing for integration into the Schengen system. However, verifications and readiness assessments are ongoing, and the accession procedure itself is not yet complete.

Earlier, the leader of the Greek Cypriot community, Nicos Christodoulides, stated that technical preparations could be completed by the end of 2025, with accession potentially taking place as early as 2026. Nevertheless, the European Commission's report emphasizes that the process is still at the stage of study and observation.

Particular attention in the document is paid to the monitoring evaluations conducted in December last year to assess Cyprus's readiness to meet Schengen area requirements. According to Brussels' assessment, the preparation has not yet reached the level necessary to finalize the process.

For the TRNC, the possible accession of the Republic of Cyprus to Schengen could have serious consequences. First and foremost, this concerns the regime of crossing the 'Green Line'. Experts do not rule out that in the future, controls at the buffer zone could be tightened in accordance with Schengen security and migration control regulations.

Furthermore, the possible Schengen membership of the Republic of Cyprus could affect the movement of foreign nationals working or residing in the TRNC, as well as trade and tourist flows between the two parts of the island.

For now, as the European Commission notes, the process remains far from completion, and the final deadlines for the Republic of Cyprus's entry into the Schengen zone are still undefined.