European Union

After a long journey of over three decades, the Republic of Cyprus became a full member of the EU on May 1, 2004. Accession to the EU was a natural choice for Cyprus, driven by its culture, civilization and history, as well as its unwavering commitment to the values of democracy, freedom and justice.

EU accession has launched a new era of opportunities and responsibilities for Cyprus.

The application of the EU laws and regulations, known as the Acquis Communautaire, is suspended for the area under military occupation by Turkey, pending a solution to the division of the island.

With the dawn of 2008, Cyprus joined the European Monetary Union leveraging a robust economic performance marked by banner key indicators. Apart from achieving and maintaining the indicators to meet the strict EMU entrance requirements, a key advantage of joining the eurozone is price transparency: with exchange rate risk eliminated and costs significantly lower, prices are transparent across the Eurozone, fostering competition and lower prices in the medium to longer term.

Accession to the EU has also launched a new era of commitment to growth in Cyprus. Cyprus encourages Foreign Direct Investment opportunities in the priority economic growth sectors, highlighted in the country’s Strategic Development Plan 2007-2013.

These priority economic growth sectors include: Banking & Financial Services, Education, Information Communication Technologies, Medical & Wellness Tourism, Professional Services (incl. legal and accounting), Research & Development, Shipping, Renewable Energy and Environmental Technologies. Overlaying in all sectors, Cyprus is keen to promote Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) while enhancing business process innovation.

Today, Cyprus actively participates in EU Programs, focusing on strengthening growth in various economic sectors,as well as entrepreneurship and innovation across sectors and processes. In 2012 between July to December, Cyprus assumes, for the first time, the EU Presidency. In this role, as “the face and the voice” of the European Union, Cyprus will direct the work of the Council of the European Union, maintain relations with other Union institutions and represent the European Union in international matters.

For more info: www.europa.eu, www.eic.ac.cy