Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: Encyclopedia II - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - International status

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - International status

The international community - with the exception of Turkey - does not recognize the TRNC as a sovereign nation (Note: the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, an exclave of Azerbaijan, does regard the TRNC as sovereign, while the rest of Azerbaijan officially has not followed suit). The Organization of the Islamic Conference gives the TRNC the status of a constituent state, and it is an observer member of this organization.

Since the April 2004 referendum on the United Nations Annan Plan, the attitude of the international community towards the TRNC has begun to improve. Günter Verheugen, the EU's Enlargement Commissioner, was reported as saying that the EU was considering opening a representative office in the TRNC. EU foreign ministers agreed to give the TRNC 259 million euros (US$307 million) in aid, but the blocking of the aid by the Greek Cypriot Administration resulted in the decision being postponed, and half of the money to be lost.

Legally, however, the European Union continues to consider northern Cyprus as EU territory with a disputed foreign military presence and thus indefinitely exempt from EU legislation until a settlement has been reached. While certain outlying regions of the EU can and do obtain exemptions from EU law, Northern Cyprus is the only part of the Union where such laws are not enforceable. The number of seats assigned to Cyprus in the European Parliament (6 seats) is based on the population of the entire island. By comparison, Malta, with a population equal to that of the government-controlled southern part of Cyprus, holds 5 MEP seats. Despite the fact that the Turkish Cypriot residents of Northern Cyprus - and possibly some of the naturalized Anatolian Turks - are EU citizens, fewer than expected Northerners voted in the 2004 elections. There is no support for admitting two Cypriot member states into the EU.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "International status", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki