Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the context of "Signals intelligence"

The European Union Customs Union (EUCU), formally known as the Community Customs Union, is a customs union which consists of all the member states of the European Union (EU), Monaco, and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Some detached territories of EU states do not participate in the customs union, usually as a result of their geographic separation. In addition to the EUCU, the EU is in customs unions with Andorra, San Marino and Turkey (with the exceptions of certain goods), through separate bilateral agreements.

There are no tariffs or non-tariff barriers to trade between the members of the customs union and—unlike a free trade area—members of the customs union impose a common external tariff on all goods entering the union.

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, located off the coast of the Levant in West Asia. Cyprus’ capital is Nicosia, while its largest municipality is Limassol. The northeast portion of the island is governed by the self-declared, largely unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is separated from the Republic of Cyprus by the United Nations Buffer Zone. In the south of the island of Cyprus are the British sovereign military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The island is the third largest and third most populous in the Mediterranean, after Sicily and Sardinia.

Cyprus was first settled by hunter-gatherers around 13,000 years ago, with farming communities emerging by 8500 BC. The late Bronze Age saw the emergence of Alashiya, an urbanised society closely connected to the wider Mediterranean world. Cyprus experienced waves of settlement by Mycenaean Greeks at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. Owing to its rich natural resources (particularly copper) and strategic position at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the island was subsequently contested and occupied by several empires, including the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Persians, from whom it was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great. Successive rule by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire, Arab caliphates, the French Lusignans, and the Venetians was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman dominion (1571–1878). Cyprus was placed under British administration in 1878 pursuant to the Cyprus Convention and formally annexed by the United Kingdom in 1914.

Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia or Lefkoşa, is the capital of Cyprus and the de jure capital of Northern Cyprus, which is geographically located in Asia. It is the southeasternmost capital city among European Union member states.

Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capital of Cyprus since the 10th century. It is the last divided capital in Europe; three years after Cyprus gained independence from British rule in 1960, the Bloody Christmas conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots triggered island-wide intercommunal violence, and Nicosia's Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities segregated into its south and north respectively in 1964. A decade later, Turkey invaded Cyprus following Greece's successful attempt to take over the island. The leaders of the takeover would later step down, but the dividing line running through Nicosia (and the rest of the island, interrupted only briefly by British military bases) became a demilitarised zone that remains under the control of Cyprus while heavily policed by the United Nations; it is now known as the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus between the Republic of Cyprus, which is internationally recognised, and Northern Cyprus, which is recognised only by Turkey. The ongoing dispute between the two communities is known as the Cyprus problem.

Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city along the southern coast of Cyprus, on the Mediterranean Sea. Limassol is the most populated municipality in Cyprus, with a population of 108,105 and is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus, after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139. It is the capital of the Limassol District with a population of 262,238.

Limassol was built between two ancient Greek cities, Amathus and Kourion. Its historical centre is located around the medieval Limassol Castle and the Old Port. The city spreads along the Mediterranean coast and has extended much farther than the castle and port, with its suburbs stretching along the coast to Amathus. To the west of the city is Akrotiri, one of the two British Overseas Territories of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island.

The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarized zone, patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that was established on 4 March 1964. It was extended on 9 August after the Battle of Tillyria and extended again in 1974 after the ceasefire of 16 August 1974, following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the de facto partition of the island into the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus (excluding the British Sovereign Base Areas) and the largely unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north. The zone, also known as the Green Line (Greek: Πράσινη Γραμμή, Prasini Grammi; Turkish: Yeşil Hat), stretches for 180 kilometres (112 miles) from Paralimni in the east to Kato Pyrgos in the west, where a separate section surrounds Kokkina.

The dividing line is also referred to as the Attila Line, named after Turkey's 1974 military invasion, codenamed Operation Attila. The Turkish army has built a barrier on the zone's northern side, consisting mainly of barbed-wire fencing, concrete wall segments, watchtowers, anti-tank ditches, and minefields. The zone cuts through the centre of Nicosia, separating the city into southern and northern sections. In total, it spans an area of 346 square kilometres (134 sq mi), varying in width from less than 20 metres (66 ft) to more than 7 kilometres (4.3 mi). After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Nicosia remains the last divided capital in Europe. Some 10,000 people live in several villages and work on farms located within the zone; the village of Pyla is famous for being one of the few remaining villages in Cyprus where Greek and Turkish Cypriots still live side by side. Other villages are Deneia, Athienou, and Troulloi. Some areas are untouched by human interference and have remained a safe haven for flora and fauna.

The euro (symbol: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents.

The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the European Union, by four European microstates that are not EU members, and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo. Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency.

The Treaty of Guarantee is a treaty between Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom that was promulgated on 16 August 1960.

Article I banned Cyprus from participating in any political union or economic union with any other state. Article II requires the other parties to guarantee the independence, territorial integrity, and security of Cyprus.Article IV reserves the right of the guarantor powers to take action to re-establish the current state of affairs in Cyprus, a provision that was used for the Turkish invasion of 1974. The treaty also allowed the United Kingdom to retain sovereignty over two military bases, Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

Limassol Salt Lake (Greek: Αλυκή Λεμεσού; also known as Akrotiri Salt Lake, Greek: Αλυκή Ακρωτηρίου) is the largest inland body of water on the island of Cyprus. It is located in Akrotiri and Dhekelia, administered as a Sovereign Base Area; specifically in the Western Sovereign Base Area.

It lies due south-west of the sprawling city of Limassol and measures 10.65 km (4.11 sq mi). According to a BirdLife (Cyprus) booklet, its lowest point is 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in) below sea level, and at its deepest point the water depth measures about one meter. A study mentions that the maximum depth of the salt lake reaches 2.8 m below mean sea level in the winter. A BirdLife International entry for an area including the lake gives the minimum elevation of that area as 0 m. Geologists hypothesize the lake was formed over the gradual joining of an offshore islet off the southern coast of Cyprus.

This is a list of countries and territories by the United Nations geoscheme, including 193 UN member states, two UN observer states (the Holy See and Palestine), two states in free association with New Zealand (the Cook Islands and Niue), and 49 non-sovereign dependencies or territories, as well as Western Sahara (a disputed territory whose sovereignty is contested) and Antarctica.

In total, 248 countries and territories have been listed. Not included in the list are eight de facto states (whose sovereignty are not recognised by the United Nations), the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), and four uninhabited territories (the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Clipperton Island, the Coral Sea Islands, and Navassa Island).