On 6 July 2026, the European Parliament is voting on amendments to a resolution on the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on Cypriot women and girls, linking the ongoing division of Cyprus to violations of EU law and gender equality. The amendments, tabled by unidentified authors, would add new paragraphs to the resolution, framing the illegal occupation of over 36% of the Republic of Cyprus as an ongoing violation of international law and EU values, and calling for stronger EU action to end the occupation and ensure the full implementation of the EU acquis across the entire territory.
Amendment 15 notes that 52 years after the 1974 Turkish invasion, more than a third of the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state, remains illegally occupied, constituting a continuing breach of international law, EU principles, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a member state. Amendment 16 calls on Türkiye to comply fully with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and demands that the EU take stronger measures to defend Cyprus's sovereignty, end the illegal occupation and division, and enforce the EU acquis across all of Cyprus. The resolution, steered by the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, focuses on crimes committed by Turkish forces against Cypriot women and girls and the consequences for gender equality.
The amendments, if adopted, would embed the Cyprus issue directly into the Parliament's gender equality framework, potentially increasing political pressure on the EU institutions to take a more assertive stance on Cyprus. The resolution and its amendments are expected to be put to a plenary vote, after which the adopted text would become the Parliament's position. The Council and the European Commission may face renewed calls to address the Cyprus dispute in the context of EU-Turkey relations and the broader EU acquis enforcement.