BRIEFING PAPER Number 7387, 16 November 2015 By Arabella Lang Famagusta debate Inside: 1. The Famagusta dispute 2. Cyprus settlement negotiations 3. Appendix www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library |
[email protected] | @commonslibrary Number 7387, 16 November 2015 2 Contents Summary 3 1. The Famagusta dispute 4 1.1 Backbench business debate 4 1.2 What happened to Famagusta? 4 1.3 Proposals 5 2. Cyprus settlement negotiations 6 2.1 UN negotiations 6 Recent developments 6 Up to 2014 7 2.2 Cyprus-EU relations 8 2.3 Cyprus-UK relations 10 3. Appendix 12 3.1 European Parliament declaration 12 3.2 Security Council resolutions 12 Cover page image copyright: Chamber-070 by UK Parliament image. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 / image cropped. 3 Famagusta debate Summary The House of Commons is debating a Backbench Business motion on Famagusta on 16 November 2015. It calls for the Cypriot city of Famagusta to be returned by Turkey to its ‘lawful inhabitants’. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Famagusta became part of the ‘Turkish Republic of North Cyprus’ (TRNC). The TRNC operates a large free port and zone at Famagusta, although the Republic of Cyprus has declared this closed. A section of Famagusta called Varosha has remained closed off by the Turkish military since 1974, becoming a ghost town. Famagusta is often seen as one of the keys to a permanent settlement for Cyprus and to unblocking Turkey’s stalled EU accession process. UN-sponsored negotiations for a permanent settlement for Cyprus restarted in 2015 following the election of a new leader in the TRNC.