The European Commission as an Actor in the Cyprus Conflict

The European Commission is an important actor in and of itself, with a distinct role in conflict transformation. There is much academic work on the EU's role in the Cyprus conflict, and more broadly, on the EU as an actor in conflict prevention and resolution. There is much less work examining the specific role of the European Commission through an exploration of the discourse it constructs, produces and sustains. It is the intention of this article to add to the literature in this area through a critical analysis of the European Commission's role in the Cyprus conflict. KEY WORDS: European CommissiondiscourseCyprus conflictconflict transformation Notes 1. For an analysis of the Cyprus conflict in the European Parliament see Stavridis and Tsardanidis (Citation2009). 2. This article is seeking to explore how macro-level discourse plays out within the different spaces of the conflict, in particular within the EU, rather than the micro-level detail of speech/communicative acts. 3. Whilst the pre-1974 period is equally as important in understanding the inter-communal violence in Cyprus (bringing about the first UN intervention in Cyprus through Resolution 186 (1964)), this article focuses on Resolutions in the post-1974 period because it was after this that the legal parameters and principles for a solution were constituted and institutionalised through the UN. 4. The distinction between norms and law is informal and is made in order to understand how the Commission, through the Regulations put forth after 2004, were able to normatively challenge the dominant discourse in terms of the 'language of blame', but still remain within the bounds of the legally established discourse for a solution to the Cyprus issue. 5. Of course contestation between member states existed on Cyprus' accession track, but the position of Greece in the Council ensured that any such discursive contestation was negated. 6. For the accession process as catalyst argument see Richmond (Citation2006). 7. Cigarettes and alcohol excluded. 8. Replaced in 2011 by Jorge César das Neves.