Cyprus to be evaluated for Schengen

15:43 CYPRUS will be evaluated a the end of December 2013 by the European Commission in order to join the Schengen Agreement, Director of Division of Schengen, Consular Affairs and Crisis Management at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andreas Zenonos said on Friday.

Speaking to the press, Zenonos said that according to a decision taken recently by the Cabinet, preparations by the Foreign Ministry as well as the other Ministries and Services of the Republic, must be concluded by December 31, 2013 so that Cyprus can be evaluated by the Commission.

The aim is for Cyprus to join the Treaty by 2016.

Cyprus has already been evaluated in two areas out of a total of five that are set as prerequisite to join the pact.

Zenonos presented to the media the projects undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus in the framework of the External Borders Fund of the EU for the annual programs of 2008 and 2009.

The total cost exceeded one million euro and the Community’s contribution was 75 per cent.

The actions taken by Cyprus related to the upgrade of the National Passport Control System.

Cyprus became a full EU member state in May 2004. 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.