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Cyprus RightsThe Republic of Cyprus claims the whole island, and owes every right that claim implies to every Cypriot. Cyprus Rights documents where that duty goes unmet for Turkish Cypriots — with sources.

Public services · Banking

Business accounts

Report card / Public services / Banking

Living in the northWithheld10/100

The European Commission's twenty-second Green Line report, covering 2025, records that Turkish Cypriot businesses were still unable to open bank accounts in the government-controlled areas — unchanged from earlier reports. The Central Bank circular of 26 April 2023 addresses individuals holding Republic of Cyprus passports or identity cards.123

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directive 2014/92/EU; Central Bank of Cyprus circular of 26 April 2023

Sources for this criterion

  1. 1. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2024-07-04
  2. 2. Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentary · European Commission · 2026-06-30
  3. 3. Central Bank of Cyprus circular letter to all credit institutions on access to payment accounts with basic features, 26 April 2023A — primary / documentary · Central Bank of Cyprus · 2023-04-26
Stated position of the duty-bearer — Original

The Republic told the Commission it is "working towards the facilitation of opening bank accounts to Turkish Cypriot traders". Individual refusals are attributed to bank-level customer due diligence rather than policy.

— Republic of Cyprus, stated position as recorded in Cyprus Rights reference register

Status stalledWeight 3/5Score 10

Sources

  1. Twentieth report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, covering 1 January to 31 December 2023A — primary / documentaryEuropean Commission · 2024-07-04The European Commission's twentieth annual report on implementation of the Green Line Regulation, covering 2023.COM(2024) 265 final, Brussels, 4 July 2024https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/6d75c643-ca97-44ff-a2d0-7d452a729423_en?filename=COM_2024_265_1_EN_ACT_part1_v3_0.pdf
  2. Twenty-second Green Line Regulation report, COM(2026) 324 final (covering 2025)A — primary / documentaryEuropean Commission · 2026-06-30The European Commission's twenty-second annual report to the Council on implementation of the Green Line Regulation, COM(2026) 324 final.Twenty-second report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, COM(2026) 324 final, 30 June 2026, covering 1 January-31 December 2025https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/7e0f3950-fcfa-49a1-913c-fe6ce245141f_en?filename=COM_2026_324_1_EN_ACT_part1_v4.pdf
  3. Central Bank of Cyprus circular letter to all credit institutions on access to payment accounts with basic features, 26 April 2023A — primary / documentaryCentral Bank of Cyprus · 2023-04-26A circular letter from the Central Bank of Cyprus to all credit institutions on access to payment accounts with basic features, dated 26 April 2023.Central Bank of Cyprus, circular letter of 26 April 2023 to all credit institutions, on the laws on comparability of fees, payment account switching and access to payment accounts with basic featureshttps://www.centralbank.cy/en/licensing-supervision/financial-conduct/directive-on-the-comparability-of-fees-related-to-payment-accounts-payment-account-switching-and-access-to-payment-accounts-with-basic-features
  4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open sourceCyprus Rights · 2026-08-24Cyprus Rights' own internal reference corpus of registers tracking Turkish Cypriot rights issues and the applicable legal framework.Cyprus Rights reference corpus, compiled 24 August 2026: internal/reference/rights-issue-register-turkish-cypriot.md and internal/reference/legal-framework-register.md. Cited for duty-bearer positions as the registers record them and for documentation-gap statements; each register entry carries its own underlying sources