The Cyprus anomaly: Why is EU soil still under British occupation?

The news from earlier this month has been more than revealing. As Hezbollah drones targeted the Royal Air Force based in Cyprus, it was the Hellenic Navy and Air Force, not Britannia, who once ruled the waves, that provided a shield for the Union Jack and the island’s inhabitants. However, wait a second. Why are there British bases on EU soil in the first place?

The arrival of Greek frigates and F-16 Vipers to protect the Republic of Cyprus underscored a humiliating reality for London: The United Kingdom can no longer protect the very “sovereign” territories it insists on sustaining. This highlights a deeper question that the European Union seems to be ignoring completely. Why, in 2026, do we still tolerate colonial base areas on the soil of an EU member state?

The official story of how we arrived at this absurdity dates back to 1960. The independence of the Republic of Cyprus was not granted as a right, but as a transaction. Britain demanded 98 square miles of the island — about three per cent of its territory  — as a condition for ending its colonial rule and becoming a “guarantor power” of Cyprus. These Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) were not supposed to be colonies anymore according to their treaty of establishment, yet they function exactly as such.

Akrotiri and Dhekeleia are administered by a British military officer, governed by British laws, have about 18,000 inhabitants, military personnel and Cypriot Greeks, offer real estate opportunities and are used for military operations on which the elected government in Nicosia has no say at all. They even have their flag –two lions over a light green background. It is a constitutional anomaly that belongs in the 19th century, when Great Britain took control of Cyprus, not the 21st.

If one should doubt that the sun is setting on this era once and for all, just take a look at the precedent of Diego Garcia. Last year, the government of Sir Keir Starmer finally bowed to international law and the Chagos Islands were handed to Mauritius. The British recognised that maintaining overseas territories against the will of the local population and in defiance of UN resolutions was no longer a sustainable policy.

If the Chagos archipelago, thousands of miles from any continent, is treated as a colonial remnant that must be returned, then by what logic do the SBAs in Cyprus, which form integral parts of a European state, remain under the control of a post-Brexit, non-EU power? Sorry, London, but you can’t have your cake and eat it.

Since Brexit, the legal ground for the UK has ceased to be valid. These bases are no longer “EU-adjacent facilities”, as described in a special protocol of the UK accession treaty. They are now effectively an occupation of EU soil by a third country. We rightly condemn the Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island. Yet, logically and legally, the distinction between the Turkish “TRNC” and the British “SBAs” is becoming increasingly blurred. Both represent a violation of the territorial integrity of a sovereign state.
If we want to be fair, we must ask ourselves: Is there such a fundamental difference between an occupation that came to be by landings and one established by treaties which never did away with colonial rule?

As for the argument that these bases are necessary for Western interests, it does not hold water. The Republic of Cyprus has proven to be a reliable and strategic partner for the EU, the United States and Israel. Promoting the interests of our alliances does not require a British middleman. In fact, the British presence has repeatedly acted as a friction point, involving Cyprus in Middle Eastern conflicts — such as the current war against Iran — without the consent of its people. A truly sovereign Republic of Cyprus, fully integrated into the EU’s defence architecture and supported by other EU nations, can provide a far more stable and legitimate platform for regional security than a crumbling colonial outpost.

Does the Starmer administration not pride itself on a liberal ideology and a rules-based foreign policy? Time for the British Prime Minister to put his money where his mouth is and try a taste of his own medicine. If he truly believes in the right of self-determination, he must surely apply the Diego Garcia logic to the Mediterranean.

The events of the last two weeks have proven that the UK is a “guarantor power” that can no longer guarantee even its own safety, let alone that of the Cypriots. It is time to do away with colonial remnants. The soil of the Republic of Cyprus belongs to its people, and the defence of the island belongs to the alliance of its European peers, not the ghost of its former masters.