Keypoints
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The DW description of Turkish Cypriots as “invisible Europeans” highlights the gap between formal EU citizenship and practical recognition in Union narratives and institutions.
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This invisibility is rooted in the collapse of the 1960 bi‑communal constitutional order and the subsequent exclusion of Turkish Cypriots from the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus.
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EU practice since the 2004 accession of the Republic of Cyprus has treated the Greek Cypriot administration as the sole interlocutor, relegating Turkish Cypriots to the status of a problem to be managed rather than a constituent partner.
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The DW article captures daily frustrations over mobility, consular services, and the partial application of EU law but largely omits the treaty‑based equality and collective political status of Turkish Cypriots.
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AVİM’s previous work has emphasized the law–narrative gap: legal texts affirm bi‑communality and political equality, while European public discourse tends to reproduce a one‑sided, Greek‑Cypriot‑centred story.
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Overcoming Turkish Cypriot “invisibility” requires a return to the legal foundations of the Cyprus settlement and sustained efforts to reflect Turkish Cypriot positions in EU debates as those of a co‑founding community.