A ‘win-win’: every EU nation would welcome UK’s return, says Cypriot president

All 27 European Union members would welcome the UK rejoining the bloc, the president of Cyprus has said, describing the possibility as a “win-win situation”. Ten years after Brexit, the UK’s latest overtures to the EU have been received with various shades of enthusiasm by European leaders. The Cypriot president, Nikos Christodoulides, is one of the most supportive, saying he would like to see the UK “fully joining next week”. “I can tell you on behalf of the 27 member states, that all countries will welcome the possibility of the UK rejoining,” he said in an interview.

“The obstacle is not from the European side.” Such an outcome would strengthen the bloc at a time of global upheaval and help Britain deal with its own issues such as migration, he added: “If we’re together, we’re much stronger.” . At the same time, Christodoulides said it was time to resolve a longstanding disagreement over the status of two bases the UK retained when Cyprus gained independence. “We need to finish with this colonial legacy,” he said, in an interview at the presidential palace in Nicosia, which was the residence of the British governor of Cyprus during colonial rule.

Closer geographically to Beirut than Brussels, Cyprus occupies a strategic position on the eastern edge of Europe and held the rotating presidency of the EU council earlier this year. In an increasingly “anarchic” international system, having the UK back in the EU would bolster efforts to become strategically autonomous and manage the transatlantic relationship. “If we’re together, we’re much stronger.” Rejoining the EU would be easier for the UK than other candidate countries because it is already closely aligned with the bloc, said Christodoulides.

But he did not expect the UK to reapply for membership “tomorrow or in two years”. Related articles: ‘A lot more French’: what kind of EU would Britain be rejoining? Brexit was a mistake. Racing to put EU membership back to the vote would be another “I don’t believe that it is politically easy right now for the British prime minister to say: ‘We are applying again or going to a referendum’,” he said. “I see a step-by-step approach that at the end of the day, it will be like being a member of the European Union without being officially a member state: think of Ukraine – or defence and security today .”

As part of the “reset” in relations initiated by Keir Starmer, the UK and EU are set to agree on a youth mobility scheme as well as deals to ease food and agricultural trade and to link their emissions trading schemes at a summit in Brussels this month. Andy Burnham has gone further, arguing all options including full membership should be considered, despite misgivings within his own cabinet . ‘I don’t believe it is politically easy right now for the British prime minister to say “we are applying again or going to a referendum”’ ‘I don’t believe it is politically easy right now for the British prime minister to say “we are applying again or going to a referendum”’ Nikos Christodoulides, president of Cyprus Christodoulides said he was not concerned that the UK would flip-flop on the EU because British public opinion is trending towards closer ties.

Nearly 60% now consider Brexit to have been a mistake according to a recent YouGov poll , with 55% in favour of rejoining compared with 34% against. However, only 35% would support rejoining without the prior opt-outs, including adopting the euro and the Schengen agreement. European leaders are unlikely to readmit the UK on the same terms it enjoyed before leaving. “If you ask me today, I would say the UK needs the European Union more [than the EU needs the UK],” Christodoulides said, adding that the UK would not be allowed to cherry-pick.

“Nobody would like this”. The experience of Cyprus demonstrates how the UK would benefit from rejoining the bloc, he said, noting that, thanks to the EU, irregular migration to the island is down by 90% and returns have increased by 85% . The response of EU allies after a drone struck a British base in Cyprus earlier this year also demonstrated the advantages of membership at a moment of turmoil. France and Greece rushed warships and anti-drone defences to the island after the strike on RAF Akrotiri, which is a staging ground for the UK across the Middle East.

The attack, which was attributed to Iran’s allies in the region, prompted renewed discussions on the EU’s collective defence clause. It also led Christodoulides to call for a discussion over the status of the Akrotiri and Dhekelia bases which the UK claims as sovereign territory. “This is not an expression of anti-British sentiment,” he stressed. “Right now, our relationship with the UK is not the relationship that we had in 1960.” The UK has not ruled out a discussion on the bases, he said, while declining to comment on the arrangement Cyprus would seek.

“We have a number of options, but out of respect for the British government, we are not going to negotiate publicly.” Photograph by Romeo Boetzle / AFP / Getty Images Europe European Union UK Brexit Brexit