2010 is fast upon us. Here are some brief thoughts, and even a few predictions, on the critical issues for the year ahead in some of the countries I follow closely in southern and eastern Europe.
1) Cyprus
Talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots on the reunification of the island are moving slowly, and there’s growing concern that a window of opportunity is closing. The Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, may lose elections in April to a more nationalist opponent. In which case, it will be even harder to stitch together a deal.
You might wonder why Cyprus matters. I can think of two reasons. Firstly, because progress towards reunification in Cyprus is intricately linked to the situation in Turkey. European leaders want to see if Turkey is prepared to encourage the Turkish Cypriots to reach an agreement. If a deal can be done, a significant obstacle to Turkey’s accession to the EU will have been removed.
![[QODLink]](http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2012/2/13/20122131780495734_16.jpg "Suppressing the narrative in Bahrain")
