Reunification and Property Development in Northern Cyprus
Since Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus in 1974, as a counter measure to the attempted Greek coup, Cyprus has been divided into the internationally recognised ‘Republic of Cyprus’, and the ‘Turkish Republic of Cyprus’.The partition has caused a number of tensions. With the E.U and U.N ratifying the existence of only one - the Republic of Cyprus - the third of the island owned and ruled by Turkey has suffered economic downturns over the last 30 years. Euro-skeptics place the blame for that on the fact that the European Union, with its monopoly on European ideals and practices, has effectively rendered the ‘Turkish Republic of Cyprus’ redundant, with a number of boycotts. With Turkey traditionally not wanting to commit fully to European ideals, the debate over Cyprus has been a troublesome one; Europe won’t recognise northern Cyprus as a legitimate republic, and so has suffered, and the Turkish authorities neglect it, and so it has suffered. The south of the island, from which the island largely derives its industry, and has the support of the European community, has prospered. But in recent years, as the Turkish authorities on the mainland have caved to pressure from the Turkish Cypriot authorities, the island’s governments have come closer together. And with that has come an acceptance from other European nation’s that the ‘Turkish Republic of Cyprus’ can be legitimate; though it will only ever be officially recognised if it unites with the rest of the island. As a result of the growing warm heartedness, though, tourism in Northern Cyprus has boomed. It has grown at steady and impressive rates over the last ten years, so that the economy is improving and stabilising. With that has come investment in property in Northern Cyprus from foreign buyers. That in turn has helped the economy further, and that trend looks set to continue. Indeed the Turkish Cypriot president Mehmet Ali Talat has called for reunification to become a serious agenda, and his counterpart, the Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias, concurs. They have met three times to discuss the issue, and a fourth meeting is scheduled for September 3rd.Talat hopes that a decision can be made by the end of the year. Property, tourism and the economy are all booming in Northern Cyprus. But if reunification laws are passed, that boom can only intensify; with northern Cyprus then accepted into the international community, its economy can flourish without constraints. Indeed, it is the property market that is expected to benefit most heavily from that change.The Cypriot economy has been growing at a rate of 4% this year, and with property investment Northern Cyprus booming too, reunification could bring a serious economic renaissance to the island.
