History of Cyprus since 1878 1948, King Paul of Greece declared that Cyprus desired union with Greece. In 1950 the Orthodox Church of Cyprus presented a referendum according to which around 97% of the Greek Cypriot population wanted the union. The United Nations accepted the Greek petition and "enosis" became an international issue. In 1952 both Greece and Turkey became members of NATO. After the war, a delegation from Cyprus submitted a demand for enosis to London. The demand was rejected but the British proposed a more liberal constitution and a 10-year programme of social and economic development. Led by Archbishop Makarios, the Greek Cypriot
Rugby union in Greece national team participating in the European Nations Cup in 2005, and the establishment of annual league competitions from 2005 to the present. This is partly due to pressure from rugby league in Greece which has started aggressive recruitment in recent years, and has set up a national team composed mostly of Greek Australians, managed by Colin Mylonas, himself an Australian. Although rugby union has a much longer history in Greece, the Greek Rugby League was set up in 2003. The domestic championship began in 2005–06 and has been dominated by Athens RFC who won the first four championships. In 2005–06