Cyprus–UK Relations After Brexit: Balancing EU Membership Obligations and Strong Bilateral Ties

This chapter analyses Cyprus–UK relations after Brexit through the triangular framework, which conceptualises bilateralism as shaped by the interaction between EU membership obligations, EU–UK relations, and the UK’s post-Brexit bilateral strategy. Cyprus represents a distinctive case: historically intertwined with the UK through its role as a Guarantor Power, the presence of the Sovereign Base Areas, and dense people-to-people links, while simultaneously being a small, strongly pro-EU Member State with limited capacity to shape EU-level outcomes and no political incentive to challenge EU obligations. The chapter shows how in the post-Brexit era, Cyprus has sought to deepen cooperation with the UK—most notably through the Strategic Cooperation Memorandum, enhanced defence ties, and collaboration on sanctions and illicit finance—while operating firmly within the legal and political constraints of EU membership and the EU–UK Agreements. Crucially, the depth of political and historical ties with the UK further narrows Cyprus’s flexibility, shaping both the pace and direction of post-Brexit bilateral engagement.