History of Cyprus since 1878 proclaimed Cyprus the Crown colony of British Cyprus in 1925, under an undemocratic constitution. International recognition of the new Republic of Turkey resulted from the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 in which the new Turkish government formally recognised Britain's sovereignty over Cyprus (article 20). The administration was reformed in the latter 1920s, and some members of the Legislative Council (established 1926) were elected by the Cypriots, but their participation was very marginal. The Legislative Council was abolished in 1931. Greek Cypriots believed the circumstances were right to demand union of the island with Greece (enosis), as many of the Aegean
History of the European Union (1993–2004) hoped that Cyprus would join as a unified island. However, northern Cyprus has remained outside the control of the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of 1974. The Annan Plan for the resolution of the Cyprus dispute was rejected by Greek Cypriots in a 2004 referendum. The accession treaties were signed on 16 April 2003 in Athens, admitting Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Romania and Bulgaria were not among the 10 chosen to accede in 2004. Finally, on 1 May 2004, the Union expanded from 15