EC tells Cyprus to lift restrictions on EU house buyers

The European Commission has asked Cyprus to respect EU rules that give nationals from the EU, as well as from Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, the right to buy a second home on the island without restrictions.
As Cyprus is still maintaining the restrictive measures, nationals from the EU/EEA are hampered in their efforts to acquire secondary homes in Cyprus, the Commission said.
Since EU accession in 2004, transitional measures were in force that could restrict such acquisitions but these measures expired in 2009. As Cyprus has not yet repealed these restrictions, the Commission is sending it a reasoned opinion, the second step in the infringement procedure. If the Cypriot authorities fail to take satisfactory measures to remedy the infringement of EU law within two months, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the EU Court of Justice.
Free movement means the ability to undertake a range of operations abroad, such as opening a bank account, buying shares in non-domestic companies, or purchasing real estate. For companies it means the ability to invest in and own companies in other European countries, and to play an active role in their management.
According to the 2003 Accession Treaty, Cyprus was allowed to maintain transitional measures that imposed restrictions on buying second homes for EU/EEA nationals. These measures would apply for five years and expired on 1 May 2009. By that date, the Cypriot authorities were obliged to repeal the transitional measures. However, this has not been the case and Cyprus infringed its obligations under the EU Treaty rules on the free movement of capital.