Publisher's Synopsis
Since 1993, the European Commission, EU member states and the Republic of Cyprus have raised the expectation that the prospect of Cyprus' EU membership would act as a catalyst for a settlement of the island's conflict. Yet the divisions between the positions of the principal parties widened and the 1990s witnessed an escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Thereafter, despite the re-launch of the peace process in 2002-2004, the divided island joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
