The accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union is the most significant event since the establishment of the Republic in 1960. Finally, Cyprus's ship has arrived at its safe destination. However, the accession was not a walk in the park. It required enormous effort and hard work from everyone.

The book you hold in your hands objectively and comprehensively presents the journey towards the European Union from the early 1960s until accession in December 2002 in Copenhagen. Why did we seek accession? What was the negotiation and harmonization process? How was the whole effort organized from the EU and Cyprus's side? What difficulties did we face? These are some of the questions that are answered.

The book presents, step by step, the course of the negotiations, the problems we faced in each chapter, and the transitional periods we secured. I believe this book will serve as a unique resource for all scholars studying Cyprus's accession path to a United Europe.