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The European Parliament has approved a proposal to erect a memorial dedicated to the victims and missing persons of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, a decision welcomed in the Republic but sharply criticized in the island’s north.
The resolution, passed with broad support from EU lawmakers, calls for a permanent monument on Parliament grounds in Brussels to honor those who died or disappeared during the conflict that divided the island.
Cypriot MEPs described the move as a “long-overdue act of remembrance,” saying it acknowledges the pain still carried by families of the missing and keeps the Cyprus issue visible in Europe’s political heart.
“This is not only a Cypriot tragedy, it’s a European one,” one MEP said during the debate. “It’s about remembering that peace in Europe is never a given.”
But the decision has drawn backlash from the Turkish Cypriot leadership, which accused the European Parliament of overlooking the suffering experienced on both sides. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman said the vote ignored the work of the island’s Committee on Missing Persons, a joint body that investigates cases involving both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and framed the move as “one-sided.”
Officials in the occupied north argued that the issue of missing persons is humanitarian, not political, and warned that such gestures risk deepening division instead of fostering reconciliation.
For the Republic of Cyprus, however, the vote is seen as a symbolic victory, a reminder that the island’s trauma remains on Europe’s conscience. The invasion followed a coup backed by the Greek military junta and left the island split between the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-controlled north, recognized only by Ankara.
While the monument itself won’t shift the political landscape, analysts say it strengthens Nicosia’s ongoing effort to keep the Cyprus question on the EU’s agenda, especially as the island prepares to assume the bloc’s rotating presidency in early 2026.
