Cyprus’ Schengen accession ‘not on agenda’ of next EU Council meeting

The question of whether Cyprus will accede to Europe’s border-free Schengen zone is “not on the agenda” of the Council of the European Union’s justice and home affairs (JHA) council, according to reports on Tuesday. The Cyprus News Agency reported that editors in Brussels were briefed that while there is “full awareness of the ongoing work on Cyprus’ accession to Schengen”, the matter “has not been included on the JHA council agenda this time”, with the meeting set to take place in Luxembourg on Thursday. Instead, it is understood that ministers of the 25 countries which are members of both the EU and the Schengen zone will discuss matters including visas given to Russian citizens, following a drone attack at Germany’s Leipzig airport last month, with the German government believing that the perpetrator of the attack was a Russian national. The non-inclusion of Cyprus on the agenda will be a blow to the government, with President Nikos Christodoulides having said earlier this month that he wished for the island to join the Schengen zone “as soon as possible”, with the European Commission having already confirmed its own “positive assessment” of the island’s preparedness to join. Related Articles • Cyprus hoping for Schengen decision ‘as soon as possible’ • Christodoulides, von der Leyen discuss Cyprus’ Schengen accession • Queries raised over Cyprus’ Schengen ambitions • ‘We’ve ticked all the boxes’ for Schengen entry • New rules for Schengen travel will not apply to Cyprus • Cyprus wants to be ‘as close as possible to core’ of EU amid ‘two-speed’ talks “We are working together with the council, that is, with all the member states, as well as with the commission, so that we can have this very important political decision as soon as possible,” Christodoulides said. Commission spokesman Markus Lammert said in July that with the Commission now having taken a position, the matter is now in the Council’s hands. “It is clear that decisions on when and how Cyprus joins the Schengen area lie with the council. The commission’s position is very clear. Cyprus’ full accession to the Schengen area would be strengthening the common framework of shared rules, standards, and responsibilities that underwrite Schengen cooperation,” he said. For a new country to join the Schengen zone, a unanimous decision to that end must be taken by all of the countries inside the zone which are also members of the EU. They currently number 25, with only Cyprus and Ireland remaining on the outside. The four Schengen zone countries which are not EU member states – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – are party to discussions but are not afforded votes in the process. Von der Leyen one of the main driving forces behind Cyprus’ push for Schengen accession As the Cyprus Mail has been informed, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has personally been one of the main driving forces behind the push for Cyprus to join the Schengen zone. “For years and years, the view across Europe was that Cyprus can never join the Schengen zone without the Cyprus problem being solved. Now, however, von der Leyen has told each member state that Cyprus must join the Schengen zone, and that they must acquiesce to it,” one diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said. However, some have expressed reservations about the feasibility of the plans for Cyprus’ to join the Schengen zone and the impact it may have on the Cyprus problem. This is in part because many believe that the Cypriot government’s insistence that the Schengen zone’s new digital entry/exit system will not be implemented at the nine crossing points which connect the island’s two sides will not be possible in reality. European Commission’s Cyprus problem envoy Raffaele Fitto and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman As such, Cyprus would likely be required to either effectively turn the Green Line into a hard border or have Europe face an administrative breakdown in the tracking of people entering and leaving the Schengen zone. Given this to be the case, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has said that it is “extremely important” for the Turkish Cypriot side to be involved in Cyprus’ accession to the Schengen zone. He also warned that Schengen accession “has the potential to bring about many complications, especially in the area of freedom of movement” regarding Turkish Cypriots, especially those who are not citizens of the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus is one of just two EU member states which remain outside the Schengen zone, with Ireland, the other, electing not to fully join the zone so as to not prejudice its common travel agreement with the United Kingdom, which is outside the EU, the Schengen zone, the European single market, and the European customs union.