Amid the impending crisis, Nikos Christodoulides, foreign minister of Cyprus has announced that Cyprus in collaboration with EU authorities is making preparations regarding the status of British bases post-Brexit.
According to the minister, an “interim solution” would be applied to British bases on the island nation, to avoid any potential mass disruptions caused Brexit without any kind of prior agreement. Speaking to the press right after a meeting of the cabinet, Christodoulides explained how he briefed the council of ministers on all developments concerning Brexit and declared that the preparations started from October 2017 have now been intensified.
He further added that the island nation’s government is in contact with Brussels so that management by the EU, if needed, can be possible.
As of now, the British Overseas Territories on Cyprus include the British Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (S.B.A.), with over 11,000 Cypriots living within them. So long as UK remains an EU member, any movement between the SBA and Cyprus would remain unrestricted. In case the UK does depart completely from the EU without any agreement, however, the free movement will cease, making the SBAs virtually a legal no-man’s land.
Needless to say, this can cause wide-scale disruption in the lives of over 16,000 people living, which includes both Cypriot and British nationals.
