EditCyprus’s push for EU “strategic autonomy”: rhetoric vs. reality in Nicosia
Deep-seated security fears of Turkey keep Cyprus firmly anchored to American guarantees, mirroring Germany's conflicted stance toward Russia
When it comes to greater European autonomy from the United States, Cyprus’s policy is as conflicted as that of the Federal Republic of Germany. Just as Germany, fearing Russia, sees the U.S. as its only truly reliable security guarantor, writes Günter Seufert.
Günter Seufert is the former Founding Director of the Centre for Applied Turkish Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He wrote this op-ed in personal capacity.
Nikos Christodoulides, president of the Greek‑dominated Republic of Cyprus, had only just begun to enjoy the international attention that his island nation’s assumption of the Council of the European Union presidency on 1 January had brought him. Then, just one week later, a seamlessly edited video appeared on X. In it, Christodoulides’s chief of staff, Charalambos Charalambous, boasts that generous and charitable donors can gain direct access to the president through him. Charalambous resigned on 12 January.
Christodoulides and his team in Nicosia had carefully considered how they could use the six‑month Council presidency to advance the interests of the island republic. After all, every country pursues its own objectives during its six‑month term. The challenge is to present national interests as shared priorities of the entire EU.
Back in 2012, when the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) held the presidency for the first time, politicians and diplomats from Nicosia were notably unsuccessful in this endeavour. The island had only joined the EU in 2004. That decision was taken even though northern Cyprus has been occupied by Turkey since 1974 and Ankara has declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) there. The Republic of Cyprus joined the EU primarily in the hope that, with European support, it could end the Turkish occupation, a strategy that, as is well known, failed. The Council presidency at the time reflected this: “We only knew one issue then – Turkey and the Turkish occupation,” Christodoulides has now admitted to European journalists.
This time, everything is meant to be different. Nicosia still states its own interests quite openly. The Republic of Cyprus aims to join the Schengen area and is working to implement the EU asylum reform adopted in 2024. Nicosia is pressing for rapid progress on this issue. In relation to its population, the Republic of Cyprus has been receiving the highest number of refugees in the EU for years.
However, the Cypriot president insists that the EU’s broader interests are at the top of his agenda. The Greek Cypriot leadership has chosen “An autonomous union, open to the world” as the motto of its presidency. On the one hand, Nicosia wants to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy, which, in the current context, essentially means greater European independence from the United States. On the other hand, the island republic wants the EU to play a more active role in the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East. The goal is to stabilise the region to the south of the island, in what is presented as the well‑understood interests of Europe as a whole. This raises the question of how closely the island republic’s own policies align with its president’s ambitions for Europe.
The priority is greater autonomy for the European Union. There are two main reasons for this: Russia’s war against Ukraine and US policy under Donald Trump.
In relation to Russia’s war, the Republic of Cyprus is now clearly aligned with the EU. This has not always been the case. For a long time, Cyprus was regarded as Russia’s Trojan horse within the Union. For years, Russian oligarchs laundered money in Cyprus; between 30,000 and 40,000 Russian citizens settled in the island republic, bought property, founded a Russian school and a Russian church, worked to create a Russian political party, and helped turn the holiday city of Limassol into what was dubbed “Limassolgrad”. Even after the annexation of Crimea, Moscow and Nicosia signed 67 agreements to deepen cooperation not only in trade and finance and not only in tourism and energy, but also in defence and security policy. Russian warships were granted access to Cypriot ports.
This came to an abrupt end in February 2022, when Russia launched its full‑scale invasion of Ukraine. Christodoulides immediately likened the Russian attack to Turkey’s invasion of the island in 1974. The Republic of Cyprus is now participating in all EU sanctions against Russia, and at the very start of his presidency, Christodoulides received Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Yet when it comes to greater European autonomy from the United States, Cyprus’s policy is as conflicted as that of the Federal Republic of Germany. Just as Germany, fearing Russia, sees the United States as its only truly reliable security guarantor, the Republic of Cyprus, fearing Turkey, relies on Washington for its own security. In Nicosia, leaders are clinging to the provisions of the US East Med Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019, which pledges support for the security of Cyprus and Greece (against Turkey). They hope that the involvement of US oil and gas companies in fields around the island will ensure that Washington will not remain passive if Turkey intervenes again. They also take comfort from the expansion of the airport in Paphos by the United States, even if officially only for humanitarian purposes.
And, like Germany, Cyprus is seeking technical support for its air defence not from European arms companies but from Israel. Berlin is purchasing the Arrow 3 air‑defence missile system from Tel Aviv. The Republic of Cyprus has already installed Israel’s Iron Dome defence system. So doing, the government of both countries pass over widespread unease in their societies about Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.
“Bringing the EU closer to our region” is the second main objective of the Cypriot presidency. The key instrument is the “Mediterranean Pact”, which the European Commission presented in November 2025. Cyprus’s presidency is expected to launch its implementation. A wide range of projects and programmes is planned, covering areas from education and sustainable tourism to investment in green energy and migration management. The overarching goals are development and stability.
The island republic’s ambitions go further still. It wants to enhance its status in the region and is presenting itself as a gateway to Brussels. The list of countries to which the Cypriot foreign minister has promised to secure increased European investment and improved access to the EU stretches from India and the Philippines to Botswana and Belize, and from Algeria to Lebanon. This almost calls to mind the recent scandal in Nicosia.
Caption: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) and Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulides give a press conference following College of Commissioners meeting in Lemesos, Cyprus, 15 January 2026. Following Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the EU, which runs from 01 January to 30 June 2026, the College of Commissioners visited the country. EPA/GEORGE CHRISTOPHOROU
Updated: January 20, 2026 - 16:34
