Turkey, Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot political parties: the ephemeral catalyst of EU?

The article investigates Turkey’s impact on the Turkish Cypriot political parties before, during and after the Annan Plan referenda. It is argued that before the referenda on the “Annan Plan”, a variety of reasons (the most important being the strong prospects for Turkey’s EU candidacy) led Ankara to support a compromising solution to the Cyprus issue. In contrast, in the post-Annan era, the slower pace of Turkey’s EU integration as well as thestaggering negotiations on the Cyprus issue have not allowed for an equally decisive role of Ankara in Turkish Cypriot political parties.