The second biggest town on the island is the main commercial port of Lemesos (Limassol) in the south of the island, also a popular tourist resort, which has a population of 163.900.

The coastal town of Larnaka in the south-east has a population of 73.200 and is the island´s second commercial port and also an important tourist resort. To the south of the town is situated Larnaka´s International Airport.

Pafos in the south-west with a population of 48.300 is a fast developing tourist resort and home to the island´s second International Airport.

In the Turkish occupied area, Ammochostos (Famagusta) in the eastern part of the island was the centre of the pre-1974 tourist industry. Other main towns which are also under Turkish occupation are Morfou in the north-west and Keryneia in the north.

International Position

The Republic of Cyprus became an independent sovereign state on 16 August 1960. Soon after independence the Republic became a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Council of Europe. Cyprus subsequently became a member of other international organisations, including the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe, formally the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In 1974, Turkey, in violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, invaded Cyprus and since then continues to illegally occupy by the use of military force about 37% of the Republic’s territory. The international community has stated categorically its support for the internationally recognised sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the whole of its territory, including the occupied part. United Nations resolutions reaffirm, inter alia, the right of the Republic of Cyprus and its people to full and effective control over the entire territory of Cyprus and natural and other resources and call upon all states to support and help the Government of the Republic to exercise these rights (United Nations General Assembly resolution 37/253, of 13 May 1983).

In 1983 the occupation regime arbitrarily and unilaterally declared the independence of the occupied part of Cyprus. The Security Council of the United Nations by its resolution 541(1983) deplored this declaration, considered it as legally invalid and called for its withdrawal. Furthermore, by its resolution 550(1984), the Security Council condemned all secessionist actions and called upon all states not to recognize the purported entity, the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” and not to facilitate or in any way assist the secessionist entity.

By the same resolutions as well as by a number of other resolutions the United Nations called upon the international community not to recognise any Cypriot state other than that of the Republic of Cyprus and to respect its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity.

The independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as the legality of its internationally recognized Government have been recognised repeatedly in numerous resolutions and decisions of other international bodies too, such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement, etc. The international community, with the sole exception of Turkey which prompted the purported declaration of independence of the occupied part, recognizes only one state in Cyprus, the Republic of Cyprus and its legal Government.

On 1 May 2004, Cyprus officially became a member of the European Union.

Turkish Invasion and Occupation

On 15 July 1974 the ruling military junta of Greece staged a coup to overthrow the democratically elected Government of Cyprus.

On 20 July Turkey, using the coup as a pretext, invaded Cyprus, purportedly to restore constitutional order. Instead, it seized 35% of the territory of Cyprus in the north, an act universally condemned as a gross infringement of international law and the UN Charter. Turkey, only 75 kms away, had repeatedly claimed, for decades before the invasion and frequently afterwards, that Cyprus was of vital strategic importance to it. Ankara has defied a host of UN resolutions demanding the withdrawal of its occupation troops from the island.

On 1 November 1974, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 3212, the first of many resolutions calling for respect for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus and for the speedy withdrawal of all foreign troops.

Furthermore, the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations as well as the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and other international organizations have demanded the urgent return of the refugees to their homes in safety and the full restoration of all the human rights of the population of Cyprus.

The invasion and occupation has had disastrous consequences. About 142.000 Greek Cypriots living in the north – nearly one quarter of the population of Cyprus – were forcibly expelled from the occupied northern part of the island where they constituted 80% of the population. These people are still deprived of the right to return to their homes and properties. A further 20.000 Greek Cypriots enslaved in the occupied area were gradually forced through intimidation and denial of their basic human rights to abandon their homes. Today there are fewer than 600 enslaved persons (Greek Cypriots and Maronites).

The invasion also had a disastrous impact on the Cyprus economy because 30% of the economically active population became unemployed and because of the loss of:

■ 70% of the gross output

■ 65% of the tourist accommodation capacity and 87% of hotel beds under construction

■ 83% of the general cargo handling at Famagusta port

■ 40% of school buildings

■ 56% of mining and quarrying output

■ About 41% of livestock production

■ 48% of agricultural exports

■ 46% of industrial production

■ 20% of the state forests

Furthermore, Turkish forces occupied an area which accounted for 46% of crop production and much higher percentages of citrus fruit production (79%)cereals, (68%)tobacco (100%), carobs (86%) and green fodder (65%)

About 1.500 Greek Cypriot civilians and soldiers disappeared during and after the invasion. Many had been arrested and some were seen in prisons in Turkey and Cyprus before their disappearance. The fate of all but a handful remains unknown. To resolve this humanitarian issue it is essential to have Turkey’s cooperation.

The large influx of settlers has negatively affected the living conditions of the Turkish Cypriots. Poverty and unemployment has forced over 55.000 to emigrate and they now make up only 11% of the native population.

35.000 Turkish soldiers, equipped with the latest weapons and supported by the Turkish air force and navy, are still in the occupied area making it, according to the UN Secretary-General's Report (December 1995, «one of the most densely militarised areas in the world».

Τhe illegal regime in the occupied area has pursued a deliberate policy aimed at destroying and plundering the ancient cultural and historical heritage of the island, as part of a wider goal to turkify the island and erases all evidence of its Cypriot character.

Abundant evidence gathered from foreign and Turkish Cypriot press, as well as evidence obtained from other authoritative sources (Jacques Delibard’s UNESCO report), demonstrate the magnitude of the damage and destruction caused to the cultural heritage of Cyprus.

On 15 November 1983 the Turkish-occupied area was unilaterally declared an independent “state”. The international community, through UN Security Council Resolutions 541 of 1983 and 550 of 1984, condemned this unilateral declaration by the Turkish Cypriot regime, declared it both illegal and invalid, and called for its immediate revocation. To this day, country in the world except Turkey has recognized this spurious entity.

Negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem have been going on intermittently since 1975 under the auspices of the United Nations. The basis for the solution of the Cyprus problem are the UN Security Council resolutions and two high-level agreements concluded between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot leaders in 1977 and 1979.

In an effort to enhance the prospects for a settlement and safeguard the security of all Cypriots, the Government of Cyprus had formally proposed the total demilitarization of Cyprus. The proposal envisaged the withdrawal of the 35,000 Turkish occupying forces and the disbanding of the Cyprus National Guard and the “Turkish Cypriot Armed Forces” who would hand their weapons and military equipment to UN Peace-Keeping Force (UNFICYP). UNFICYP would have the right of inspection to ascertain compliance with these measures. Turkey refused to consider the proposal and continues to maintain its illegal military hold on the island.

Population

According to data from the Statistical Service of the Ministry of Finance, the total population of Cyprus was 802.500 at the end of 2002 of whom 80,1% (642.600) are considered to be members of the Christian Greek Cypriot community and speak Greek. Of the remainder, 10,9% (87.400) belong to the Moslem Turkish Cypriot community and speak Turkish, and 9% (72.500) are foreign workers and expatriates residing in Cyprus. English is widely spoken in Cyprus and regularly used in commerce and government. While the majority of the Greek Cypriot community are members of the Autocephalous Greek Cypriot Orthodox Church of Cyprus, 1% are actually members of the Armenian, Maronite and Latin churches. Under the provisions of the 1960 Constitution these religious minorities chose to be considered members of the Greek Cypriot community.

Since the Turkish invasion and occupation of over a third of the island, the demographic character has been changed dramatically as a result of Turkey´s population policies. There are now around 115.000 illegal Turkish settlers in the occupied area, while an estimated 55.000 Turkish Cypriots have emigrated.

European Union

Representation in the EU

Cyprus is represented in the Union by one Commissioner and six members in the European Parliament. It has four votes in the EU 's policy-making Council of Ministers.

Financial Co-operation

Since 1977 Cyprus and the then EEC signed four protocols on financial and technical co-operation providing Cyprus with aid worth around 210 million EUR in loans, grants and contributions to risk capital formation.

The First and Second Financial Protocols provided 70 million EUR to finance infrastructure projects. The money was used to develop water, sewage and electricity supply as well as for the development and preservation of areas on both sides of the walled city of Nicosia, a project which benefited both communities in Cyprus.

The Third Financial Protocol - around 62 million EUR - was used to facilitate greater competitiveness in anticipation of the implementation of the Cyprus-EU Protocol for Customs Union. The risk capital revenue was used to establish partnerships with businesses in EU countries.

The Fourth Financial Protocol provided 74 million EUR to finance schemes that would contribute to the social and economic development of the country, to facilitate economic transition to EU accession and to support efforts to promote a settlement to the Cyprus problem.

During the period 2000-2004 Cyprus was expected to receive 57 million EUR in pre-accession aid on the basis of the relevant EU regulation concerning the «implementation of operations in the framework of the pre-accession strategy»

European Military Capabilities

As an acceding country, Cyprus will participate in the European Union's rapid reaction force, the European Military Capabilities, currently under formation. In view of the Government's proposal for the demilitarization of the island, Cyprus will not provide combat troops or artillery. It has offered, however, logistics support and auxiliary services to be placed at the disposal of the EU, s military force for its crisis management and peace-keeping operations in the region. Among other things it has offered to make available to the EU a transport company, the air base in Pafos, its civilian airports and ports, telecommunications, reconnaissance and monitoring facilities, radar equipment, and medical and rescue services.

Participation in Programs and Initiatives of the European Union

The active and extended participation of both the private and the public sectors in EU programs has made a significant contribution to establishing closer relations with the EU, as well as facilitating the acquisition of expertise in European matters, and the modernization of the Cypriot economy. The EU programs available to Cyprus include: MEDA furthering the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership), LIFE (environmental protection) and COST (co-operation in research and technology), LEONARDO (vocational training, SOCRATES (education), Youth for Europe (increasing contact between young people from different countries), MEDIA II ( audiovisual means), Sixth Framework Program (research and technological development), Multi-Annual Community Program in the field of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.

The Meaning of E.U Membership for Cyprus and Europe

EU accession is the most important challenge facing Cyprus in the 21st century. With a modernized economy Cyprus is ready to be part of a new peaceful and prosperous Europe in which Greek and Turkish Cypriots together will be ready to utilize the vast opportunities that membership offers. The challenge facing Cyprus is to ensure that both communities have a role to play in the country's future.

Membership of the European Union provides the most suitable environment for a fair and lasting settlement in the island as it will give both Greek and Turkish Cypriots a sense of security and safeguard their fundamental human rights within the framework of the acquis communautaire which each member-state must strictly adhere to.

Economic and social reforms as a result of harmonization with EU legislation have and will further improve the living standards of all Cypriot citizens. Social policy is in line with the Social Charter and greater emphasis will be given to environmental issues and the improvement of safety and quality standards.

EU accession has opened up the world’s largest market to Cypriot goods and services and will enable the island to make a positive contribution to the formulation of EU policy.

Cyprus has joined the Euro in January 2008.