The Greek Cypriot struggle for enosis, or union with Greece, dominated Cypriot politics until the military coup and Turkish invasion of 1974. But the roots of the enosis movement maintained their Pan-Hellenic character, later resurfacing with the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983 and surviving in the traditional institutions of the Greek Cypriot state. The Orthodox Church, the National Guard, and 'Hellenic-centred' education all identified with the Greek Cypriot struggle for union with Greece. The concept of neo-enosis, or new union, is presented as the political objective of the Cypriot Republic from the late 1980s. Its dual objectives were to bring Cyprus politically closer to Greece through the island's application to the European Union and to pressure Turkey into accepting a Cyprus settlement. The Republic of Cyprus's application to the European Union, as argued by the theory of neo-enosis, was therefore a political manifestation of the resurgent Greek nationalism on Cyprus post-1974.
The process of European Union accession strengthened the Hellenic bonds between Cyprus and Greece. Cypriot accession was only assured by a Greek threat to prevent any European enlargement unless Cyprus was accepted in the first wave of expansion to Eastern Europe. This joint effort required the common exertion of both states politically, economically, and militarily. Greek and Cypriot membership in the EU consolidates and strengthens these links. The European Union was therefore used as a vehicle for a Pan-Hellenic nationalist agenda.
The accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union also linked potential Turkish EU membership to a Cyprus settlement. The Greek Cypriots could threaten a veto of Turkish EU entry as long as the island remained divided. This second function of the theory of neo-enosis produced the 'Annan Plan', rejected by the Greek Cypriots because of its perceived unfavourable conditions. Joint European Union membership provides the Republic of Cyprus and Greece with a forum in which to formalize national policies and devise a final settlement that maintains the territorial integrity of the entire island.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/27931 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Watson, James |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 147 p. |
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