Cyprus in the EU and EMU: A Retrospect

Reflecting, in this this paper, on Cyprus’s 20 years of EU membership, we discuss the rationale for the island’s accession to the EU and the eurozone and assess in retrospect the resulting benefits. We argue that although the main reason Cyprus aspired to join the EU was national security rather than economic considerations, the latter also provided the island considerable financial benefit. Moreover, while Cyprus’s accession to the single currency was motivated by its desire to be part of the hard core of the European unification project, joining the eurozone has clearly benefited Cyprus, especially in its hour of need, i.e., the Cypriot sovereign debt crisis of 2012-2013. Last but not least, we also argue that the unprecedented accession of a divided country to the EU may provide a possible blueprint for future enlargements, where sui generis circumstances prevail.