In 1914, Britain annexed the island because Ottoman Empire was on the opposite side. Britain was applying the "divide and rule" policy to the island, and because of this, the conflict between the two communities started.
In 1947, Britain offered to the island self-governance. Greeks refused this because at that time they were wanted "ENOSIS and only ENOSIS" .
At the end of 1958, negotiations started with the aim to bring peace to the island. In 1959, Turkey, Greece and Britain made the Zurich Agreement. Based on this agreement, Republic of Cyprus was established, and Britain was given sovereign military bases on the island. .
On 17 February 1959, London Conference began. Britain, Turkey and Greece met with the representatives of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. In the London Conference three agreements were signed:.
1) Treaty of Establishment.
2) Treaty of Alliance.
3) Treaty of Guarantee.
The establishment of the Republic didn't stop the conflicts. In 1963, the conflicts became even bigger, and the Republic collapsed. For almost 11 years, conflicts continued until when Turkey intervened to rescue the Turkish Cypriots. After 1974 the island divided between two communities.
After 1974, Turkish Federated State Of Cyprus had been established in the North and, in 1983, TRNC was founded.
The most important reason that makes the Republic of Cyprus to apply for the European Community (EC) was the application of Britain to European Community on 1 August 1961. This application affected Cyprus because for Cyprus, Britain was the most important export market. And, because of this application, The Republic of Cyprus was feared that she will lost its" market. For this reason, both Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot Communities made a common decision to sign and "Association Agreement" with the European Community. And, to reach their goal, both communities, applied for European Community membership in 1962, together.