President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday thanked France for the country’s “concrete support” for Cyprus’ endeavours to join Europe’s border-free Schengen area next year.

To this end, he said a joint letter of intent would be signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Jean-Noel Barrot of France and Constantinos Kombos of Cyprus, with the aim of advancing Cyprus’ path towards Schengen membership.

Christodoulides has repeatedly stated he wishes Cyprus to join the Schengen area next year, describing the move as “a strategic decision, a development, for both the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union”.

“We will join the Schengen zone in 2026. A huge effort is being made by the end of 2025 from a technical point of view. This is our goal, we will have completed everything we need to do as a state, with the aim of 2026, precisely, for the Republic of Cyprus to join the Schengen zone,” he said earlier in the year.

Cyprus is one of just two EU member states left outside the Schengen zone, following the accession of Bulgaria and Romania at the beginning of this year, Ireland the only other EU member on the outside. Four non-EU members – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – are also Schengen members.

Reports earlier in the year set out the likely requirements Cyprus must fulfil to be able to join the Schengen zone, with the country said to have been tasked with “strengthening [its] border controls”.

Particular attention on this front has been paid to the Green Line, which, while not de jure an external border, is said to “require strict controls” and is not exempt from EU frontier standards.