Former Commissioner Johannes Hahn steps away from Cyprus role.
ATHENS — The EU’s special envoy for Cyprus, former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, has resigned citing other commitments, the Commission said Monday.
“The Commission respects Mr. Hahn’s decision and thanks him for his valuable contribution to the settlement process over the past year,” Commission spokesperson Maciej Berestecki said, adding that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “will decide on the next steps in due course.”
Austrian Hahn, a commissioner under both Jean-Claude Juncker and Ursula von der Leyen, was appointed to the role in May 2025 to contribute to discussions on reunification in cooperation with the U.N. secretary-general’s envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar.
In January Hahn assumed the role of president of the general council of the Austrian National Bank for a five-year term.
Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the Commission is “already taking the necessary steps with the aim of appointing a new envoy … in the immediate future.” He added that Hahn had sent a letter to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to inform him of his decision.
Cyprus currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south since Turkey’s forces invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek-backed coup. Ankara does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member country that is recognized internationally as the sole sovereign authority over the whole island. The Turkish Cypriot north is recognized only by Ankara.
Multiple attempts to find a compromise agreement over the years have failed, most recently in 2017 in Switzerland. Formal talks have not resumed since then.