ABSTRACT
This chapter will investigate the institutional progress of Cyprus between 1990 and 2004, when the RoC finally acceded to the EU. After an introductory section of Cyprus’ basic conditions with regard to military power, economic importance and the country’s cultural-normative background, the analysis investigates Nicosia’s progress in institutional status in two sections. The first period covers the events from Cyprus’ membership application in 1990 – by that time it had already concluded an Association Agreement (level 2) with the EU – until it received candidate status (level 3) at the EU Council in Copenhagen in December 1997 and started to negotiate for accession (level 4) three months later. The second period analyses the events between March 1998 and Cyprus’ accession to the EU (level 5) in May 2004.
