A Reinvigorated Commonwealth
High Commissioner for the Republic of Cyprus Euripides L. Evriviades writes from his country’s perspective as both an EU and Commonwealth island state
It is a bit of an oxymoron that because of Brexit, the Commonwealth might be reenergised thus acquiring more relevance and visibility. Brexit or no Brexit, the association must keep on reinventing itself in order to meet the ever-increasing challenges of its member states and maintain its relevance on the world stage.
The Commonwealth stopped being the ‘British Commonwealth’ in 1949. It may be considered an instrument of UK foreign policy, but that is not exclusive to the UK. All its members, including some of the largest countries in the world and some of the smallest, have an equal voice at the table and participate on equal terms. Decisions are taken by consensus. The Commonwealth is as weak or as strong as all its member states allow it to be.