Jack Straw: We should never have let Cyprus join the EU

Source:Politico Date:08Sep2023

Many of us who had witnessed this process believed there had been serious duplicity on the part of Greek Cypriot negotiators. In retrospect, we could, and should, have put Cyprus’ accession on ice at this stage, and made it clear to both sides that only a united island would be allowed to join the EU.

The bloc’s failure (to which I was a party) means the EU itself has presided over a frozen conflict. And in doing so, it has lost all serious leverage over Greek Cypriots.

They believe, correctly, that they have carte blanche — not least in relation to Russia; and that any peace deal with the north, however accommodating to Greek Cypriot interests, will be less satisfactory than the status quo. The history of U.N. negotiations since 2004 makes my point.

There is, in my view, only one way through this impasse. And that is for the international community to commit itself to a two-state solution if negotiations for a new constitution for a united island fail yet again.

Finally, a sane voice among the lemmings clamoring for unity on the island