GNV News, 16 July 2026

On 13 July 2026, the European Union (EU) appointed European Commission Vice-President Raffaele Fitto as Special Representative for the Cyprus issue. By appointing a new special representative for Cyprus, the EU indicated that there is “renewed momentum” toward restarting negotiations over the long-divided island of Cyprus.

In 1974, a coup in Nicosia backed by the then Greek military junta attempted to unite the island with Greece, leading to conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and the island’s formal division. Since the Turkish invasion later that year, the island has remained split.

Decades of negotiations led by the United Nations have also failed to reunify the island. Talks held in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017 came close to a deal but ultimately collapsed. Today, the Republic of Cyprus, which is internationally recognized and an EU member state, controls the southern part of the island, where Greek Cypriots are the majority. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, declared in 1983, is recognized only by Turkey.

Amid this situation, following the EU’s latest appointment, the foreign ministry of the Turkish Cypriot administration issued a strong statement condemning the move as “one-sided” and “illegal,” saying that the appointment was made without the consent of the Turkish Cypriots. Oncu Keçeli, spokesperson for Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that “Ankara regards this appointment, as with previous EU appointments related to Cyprus, as an internal EU matter,” and criticized that “the EU, and in particular the European Parliament, is taking an increasingly biased stance toward this conflict.”

Meanwhile, there are also developments at the United Nations, which has been working on the peace process.

Since 2024, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, has argued that the status of Turkish Cypriots is not being treated on an equal footing and has worked toward an agreement with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Holguín appears to be moving away from the federal model explored in previous talks and proposing more flexible solutions within the EU. Her aim is to bridge the gap between the two sides through deliberate ambiguity, with a structure that Greek Cypriots can call a “federation” and Turkish Cypriots can call a “confederation.”

Learn more about the island of Cyprus → ““The Graveyard of Diplomacy”: The Divided Island of Cyprus”

Learn more about the Republic of Turkey → “Turkey: Expanding Sphere of Influence”

The Green Line in Nicosia, Cyprus (Photo: Marco Fieber / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])