May 1, 2004<\/b> was not a typical date. It was the moment when Cyprus <\/b>finally entered the European core,<\/b> gaining a strong political and geopolitical foothold.<\/p>\n
The path to inclusion<\/b> had a depth of time and a clear strategy. It formally began in 1990,<\/b>when the Republic of Cyprus submitted an application for inclusion<\/b>with the full support of the government of Konstantinos Mitsotakis<\/b>. At a time when the Cyprus <\/b>was unresolved<\/b> and many in Europe had reservations, this choice was not self-evident<\/b>. It was a bold<\/b> political move that strengthened Cyprus’ international position.<\/p>\n
This strategy had deeper roots<\/b>. Constantine Karamanlis<\/b> had already, as early as the 1970s<\/b>, been damaging Greece’s European course. At a time of intense reactions<\/b>, with slogans against EOK<\/b> and NATO <\/b>from forces of the post-independence era, he stuck to a choice that was questioned<\/b> at the time, but in practice justified<\/b>. The inclusion<\/b> of Greece<\/b> in the European family created the framework<\/b> within which Cyprus’s<\/b> European course was made possible.<\/p>\n
Cyprus’s accession negotiations started in 1998<\/b> and completed<\/b> in 2003<\/b> with the signing of the Treaty of Accession<\/b> in Athens. A year later, the Republic of Cyprus became a full member of the European Union,<\/b> in the largest enlargement in its history. Despite the particularities arising from the Turkish occupation<\/b>, the accession of the entire island, albeit with the suspension of the European acquis in the occupied territories<\/b>, was a major diplomatic success.<\/b><\/p>\n
Twenty-two years later, this choice is proving to be decisive<\/b>. In an environment of heightened geopolitical tensions, Cyprus’ European status serves as an essential shield<\/b>. The recent drone attack by Iran<\/b> and the immediate mobilisation of European forces<\/b> have demonstrated in practice what membership of the Union means. The presence of French President Emmanuel Macron<\/b> in Cyprus, together with the Greek Prime Minister,<\/b> was not a simple visit. It was a clear message of support<\/b> and rejection<\/b>.<\/p>\n
The accession of Cyprus<\/b> to the European Union<\/b> is not just a historical milestone. It is a strategic choice<\/b> that continues to pay off, strengthening the stability, security and international standing of Hellenism at a time of increased challenges.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
May 1, 2004 was not a typical date. It was the moment when Cyprus finally entered the European core, acquiring a strong political and economic …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}