tried to bring the Turkish flag down from a military watch-post. UN-led talks on the status of Cyprus resumed in December 1999 to prepare the ground for meaningful negotiations leading to a comprehensive settlement. The Cypriot government did not recognise any sovereignty that the Northern Cypriot administration may have and therefore do not allow international flights or free trade with the North. Discussions took place to try to remove these embargoes as it has been argued they violate the human rights of the citizens in the Northern areas. The Annan Plan for Cyprus, a United Nations proposal for reunification, was developed, calling for a referendum. 21st century Cyprus joined the European Union in May 2004. Meanwhile, the negotiations about the status of the island grew. In December 2003, the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus, between the two nations on Cyprus, was partly opened. Since then, members of both communities (and citizens of the EU) have been able to cross the buffer zone at the opened check points. In 2004, the planned UN-sponsored referendum on reunification was held on 21 April. Turkish Cypriots voted to accept the UN plan as stated in the referendum, but Greek Cypriots rejected it by a large majority. On 1 January 2008, Cyprus joined the Eurozone and adopted euro as its currency. The first elections to take place after Cyprus's accession to the European Union and the failed U.N. referendum were in 2008. Dimitris Christofias of the Progressive Party of Working People−AKEL, the communist party of Cyprus, became the president after defeating right-wing Ioannis Kasoulidis. Christofias started talks with Mehmet Ali Talat on the reunification of Cyprus as a bizonal federal state. Renewed efforts between the North and the South, the 2014 Cyprus talks of the leaders of Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, produced the unprecedented Joint Declaration for a negotiated settlement. In 2013, Nicos Anastasiades of the conservative Democratic Rally, was elected as the President of Cyprus. In 2018, President Anastasiades was re-elected tor a second term with a wide margin over his communist opponent. See also History of Cyprus Timeline of Cypriot history Independence Day (Cyprus) References Further reading Borowiec, Andrew. Cyprus: A troubled island (Greenwood, 2000). Clark, Tommy. A Brief History of Cyprus (2020) excerpt Coufoudakis, Van. “Greek-Turkish Relations, 1973–1983: The View from Athens.” International Security 9(4) (Spring 1985): 185–217. Faustmann, Hubert, and Nicos Peristianis. eds. Britain and Cyprus: Colonialism and Post-Colonialism,