When did the country officially enter the European Union?

The Mediterranean nation of Cyprus becomes one of l0 new members of the European Union on Saturday, but only the ethnic-Greek southern part of the island will join and under a cloud of international criticism after its people voted down a U. N. plan for reunification with Turkish Cypriots in the north.
   Well before its official entry into the European Union on May 1, the distinctive blue EU flag, with its circle of gold stars was fluttering in Cyprus. Cypriots seemed eager to take their place at the EU table.
   Former Cypriot President George Vassiliou was the chief negotiator for Cyprus’s accession to the union.
   "The European Union, in my opinion, is the future," he announced. "The European Union is exactly what we want to achieve--forgetting about the past, forgetting about the wars and the suffering of the past and building together a future."