ABSTRACT
Cyprus presents an intriguing focus for a study of the process of Europeanization, the subject of this volume. The Cyprus application was inevitably linked to the relations between the Greek and Turkish communities on the island (Joseph 1997). The problem for the Cyprus Government is that this strategic usage of EU entry is constrained - potentially countermanded - by the attitudes and interests of the other relevant actors. As a small state seeking to accede to an organization with an extensive and highly developed system of regulation, the process of institutional adaptation can appear mammoth. The greatest risk for Cyprus is that the major West European governments view it as abusing the EU framework and that they believe the Cypriot problem is too 'hot' to touch. Greek Cypriot arguments about the precedents for divided states entering the EU (Germany, Greenland, Aland) are widely viewed with caution, even scepticism.
