Much-loved European holiday island to join Schengen Area next year and why it's bad news for Brits
Alice Penwill, Travel Reporter
Published: Invalid Date,
CYPRUS has revealed plans to join the Schengen Area - but it won't be good news for British holidaymakers.
The popular island that sees around 1.3 million Brits visiting each year has announced it hopes to join the zone in 2026 meaning that holiday rules will change.
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The Schengen Area consists of 29 European countries that have abolished border controls for other EU countries.
These include 25 EU member states, as well as four non-EU countries; Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Essentially, the Schengen Area is a passport-free travel zone, which allows people to move between participating countries without border checks.
But there are strict rules that Cyprus will have to adhere to when they join. And for Brits, that means a limited time to stay there.
The rules state that a total stay in the Schengen Area must be no more than 90 days in every 180 days.
It does not matter how many countries you visit as the 180 day period keeps rolling.
Currently, a visit Cyprus does not count towards your 90 day limit.
So any time you spend in the Schengen Area does not affect the number of days you can spend in Cyprus - but this will change when they join.
President Nikos Christodoulides of Cyprus recently announced that the island will "enter the Schengen Zone in 2026.'
He added: 'A huge effort is being made, we will complete all the technicalities we need."
All the free activities Cyprus has to offer
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Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 but unlike other countries, did not join the Schengen Area at the same time.
This means that Cypriots face border checks and visa issues when travelling to surrounding EU countries.
For Cyprus, joining the Schengen Area will mean locals can access the country with more ease and without extra border checks.
For Cypriots, the move will be beneficial for trade as it allows goods to flow more easily between countries without custom checks at internal borders.
The timing will coincide with the launch of the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS).
The new system is being introduced as part of enhanced security measures for travellers.
The new system that will require non-EU travellers to get approval beforehand.
For Brits, you will need one of these to go into any of the Schengen Area nations.
Currently, the only EU states that aren't members of the Schengen Area are Ireland and Cyprus.
And the European destination that is warmest in May with 26C highs and 'wine villages'.
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The Guardian
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Three days before Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, I was helping friends who live in Gaza City gather armfuls of guava in their orchard in Beit Hanoun, in the north of the Strip, when something strange happened. Hamid and Rania* had bought the small plot the year before. It was overgrown, but over the changing seasons they'd worked hard on their expensive acquisition. I called it the secret garden, a tiny oasis in the midst of the dry, dirty misery of Gaza. As well as guava, there were apple, fig, lemon, orange and olive trees. The couple planted grapefruit and pomegranate saplings, and dug vegetable beds for tomatoes, herbs and spices. Rania also put in yellow and red chrysanthemums in flowerpots made out of stacks of worn-out car tyres. The couple bought a water tank and fixed the broken outhouse. The existing shack, originally little more than breeze-blocks, a dirt floor and tin roof, was refurbished, complete with a bed and a shady roof terrace. 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For decades, Israel told itself a lie that the conflict could be contained and managed, sustaining a perpetual occupation and suppression of Palestinian rights without any major diplomatic, financial or security cost. That myth was shattered in the early morning of 7 October 2023. I understood what was at first a blinding Israeli need for revenge, even if I didn't agree with it, and I knew that they needed to make sure nothing like that bloody day could ever happen again. But since then, the last hope anyone I know had for a diplomatic solution to the conflict has been extinguished. Israel has doubled down on force. The slow suffocation of Palestinian hopes of dignity and statehood that was unfolding when I arrived has accelerated at a pace no one could previously have imagined. When I started out in journalism, as an assistant at the London offices of the Associated Press, I'd spend all day fielding phone calls, copy and video files from our correspondents around the globe; I used to note down their locations and loglines enviously, eager to get out and see the world for myself. I used to think journalism could help right wrongs, and I could play a role in that, but covering the wars in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and now Gaza over the past decade has taught me that is not necessarily the case. My coverage didn't do anything to stop those horrors unfolding, but at least it showed the rest of the world the reality on the ground. Martha Gellhorn, one of the greatest conflict reporters of the 20th century, wrote about feeling like a 'war tourist' in her work. In Gaza – where Israel has blocked access for international journalists – I haven't even been that. Thanks to the sacrifices of my brave colleagues in Gaza, no one with an internet connection can say they don't know the truth of what has happened in Israel and Palestine over the past 18 months. There is no silver lining here, only lessons we may not fully understand for years to come. The late Pope Francis, who called the congregation at Gaza's sole Catholic church every night until the day before he died, used to comfort his flock by reminding them that all wars end. I remember a Gaza where hope of a better future was still alive. As soon as it is possible, I will return to the Strip to sift through the rubble of ruined lives and help reclaim what has been lost. * Names have been changed
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EXCLUSIVE Bayesian's watery grave: Wreck where billionaire Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others died is pictured... and the hatch that was initially blamed for disaster
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Divers can only spend ten minutes at a time on the wreck - with the dangers of the unforgiving conditions and poor visibility 150ft below the surface underlined by the tragic loss of a Dutch diver on May 9 during recovery efforts Sicilian fishermen say the benign waters of the Mediterranean on a calm day belie the fearsome winds which can be whipped up by sudden storms His photographs of the Bayesian's wreck shows its sinking was 'truly a great mystery', he told Italian publication Oggi. 'The wreck seems intact,' he added. Mr Sestini said while it was 'said at the beginning' that an open stern hatch caused 'huge amounts' of water to inundate the yacht when the storm struck, 'my photos show that the door is closed'. Within days of the disaster on August 19 last year, the CEO of Italian Sea Group - which bought the Bayesian's constructors Perini Navi two years ago - blamed 'human error'. The stern hatch was 'clearly' open, Giovanni Costantino told Italian media. The firm has yet to comment on the MAIB report. Bayesian was legally owned by Mr Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, who survived the disaster. The other victims were banking executive Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo and the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas. The tragedy last August killed seven people including British billionaire and tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah The moment the doomed Bayesian sank in the early hours of August 19 last year was captured by security cameras of a nearby villa on the coast Three crew members are currently facing possible charges of manslaughter and causing a disaster under an Italian criminal investigation. However Under Italian law the fact the men - captain James Cutfield, chief engineer Timothy Parker Eaton and deckhand Matthew Griffiths - have been placed under investigation does not imply guilt and does not necessarily mean that charges will be brought against them. Minute by minute, how the Bayesian tragedy unfolded August 18 - PM: The Bayesian was anchored at Cefalù on the northern coast of Sicily to shelter from the forecast weather and to allow for easy disembarkation of guests the following day. August 19 - 00.30am: Having checked the weather the captain and the last guest had retired, leaving deckhand (DH1) and the evening steward (S1) on duty. 01.00am: The second deckhand (DH2) took over the watch. The wind at this time was noted as being no more than 8kts (9.2pmh). 03.00am: DH2 noted the wind as being at 8kts (9.2pmh) from the west but thought that the thunderclouds and lightning seemed to be getting closer. 03.55am: The deckhand 'videoed the advancing storm and posted it to their social media feed' before closing the hatches and cockpit windows. 03.57am: The winds had picked up to 30kts (35mph) and the Bayesian was listing and dragging its anchor. 04.00am: The deckhand ran to wake up the skipper and the crew leapt into action and began preparing to manoeuvre the Bayesian by starting the generators and steering pumps. The rest of the crew, woken by either the captain or the yacht's change of motion, got up and made their way out of the crew accommodation. Chef Recaldo Thomas was spotted in the galley stowing cutlery, pots and pan and called out 'Good morning!' to nearby stewards. The Bayesian was lying with the wind about 60 degree off the port bow and moving at 1.8kts south-south-east of its original position. Two guests – a British couple – had been woken by the movements and decided to head to the saloon with their baby. 4.06am: Disaster struck as the wind suddenly increased to more than 70kts (80.5mph) ripping the awning away. The Bayesian 'violently heeled over' in less than 15 seconds to a 90-degree angle. The sudden movement sent people as well as furniture flying across the deck leaving five people including the captain injured while a deckhand was thrown into the sea. Two guests trapped in their cabin were forced to used furniture drawers as an improvised ladder to escape into the saloon area. The yacht's crew were able to push four guests through the cascading water up to the skipper on the flying bridge. The captain called for the guests and crew to swim clear of the mast and boom as the vessel sank. 04.22am: The crew had launched the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB). They noted that the wind had eased and that Bayesian was only a short distance from shore. In the water, a deckhand(DH2) improvised a tourniquet for one of the guest's gashed arm while a cushion was used as a flotation device foe the baby. Some of the survivors were treading water and others held on to some cushions that had floated free from Bayesian. One of the guests frantically searched for other survivors in vain using the torch from their phone - while the captain and chief officer frantically freed the life raft from the sinking wreck. 04.24am: The captain and chief officer frantically freed the life raft from the sinking wreck. It was was inflated and the survivors were able to get inside it where the crew began administering first aid. The skipper tried to raise the alarm by shouting at and then paddling towards the nearby vessel the Sir Robert Baden Powell. 04.34am: The Chief Engineer fired a red parachute flare from the life raft. Despite the winds being calm at the surface, the flare was carried sideways. He then used the life raft's torch to signal towards a hotel on the cliffs above them, passing cars, and Sir Robert Baden Powell. 04.43am: The Chief engineer fired a second parachute flare that was seen by the crew of Sir Robert Baden Powell. Responding to the flare, the skipper dispatched its tender towards the visible lights of the EPIRB and life raft. 04.53am: The tender carrying the 15 survivors returned to Sir Robert Baden Powell and a brief search was look for the missing seven people who were also on board. 04.56am: The tender from Sir Robert Baden Powell returned to the scene with Bayesian's Chief Engineer and skipper on board to search for other survivors. The local coastguard was called to arrange to transfer the survivors to shore.
