EU Foreign Ministers, who met on Monday in Brussels, noted that Turkey’s behavior has not fundamentally changed since the last summit meeting, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the meeting, without anticipating any decision on this issue by the EU leaders.
According to Borrell, the situation has even “worsened” in several respects.“The assessment is not good”, he said.
Will EU leaders, who are set to meet for two days at the end of this week, decide to sanction Turkey over a Mediterranean gas dispute ?
In October, the 27 EU leaders had called on Turkey to stop exploring gas in eastern Mediterranean, in waters contested by Greece and Cyprus, or face consequences.
EU Foreign Ministers, who met on Monday in Brussels, noted that Turkey’s behavior has not fundamentally changed since the last summit meeting, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the meeting, without anticipating any decision on this issue by the EU leaders.
According to Borrell, the situation has even “worsened” in several respects.“The assessment is not good”, he said.
Turkey’s move in late November to return a seismic exploration vessel to port has calmed tension, but EU officials and diplomats said broader issues – over Libya, Syria, Russia and authoritarianism in Turkey – have hardened EU positions, Reuters reported.
European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs EU summits, called on Turkey last week to stop playing a “cat-and-mouse” game by offering concessions only to reverse them.
Germany, the country which currently holds the EU’s six-month presidency, is said to holds the key to whether sanctions go ahead. It had hoped to mediate between Athens and Ankara, but was angered when Turkey resumed exploration for gas off Cyprus in October after a pause.
France and the European Parliament have called for sanctions against Ankara.
Arms embargo ?
The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell clearly dodged a question on Monday (7 December) over the possibility to impose an EU arms embargo on Turkey as a means to convince Ankara to de-escalate tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Spanish politician was speaking at a press conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers who discussed Europe’s next steps regarding Turkey ahead of a critical EU summit later this week.
The issue of an arms embargo against Turkey was raised by Greece at the October summit, a request which was ultimately blocked by Germany, Italy, Spain and Hungary.
According to Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to raise the issue again at the 10-11 December EU summit, which will also look into EU-Turkey relations.
Mitsotakis recently stressed that European countries should not supply munitions to a country that can use these munitions against other EU member states.
The discussion over an arms embargo against Ankara puts some EU member states in an uncomfortable position as some of them, including Borrell’s Spain, are among Turkey’s main suppliers.
According to the latest official data of the Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI), Turkey’s main suppliers in 2015-2019 were the US (38% of imports), Italy (24%) and Spain (19%).
In September, the European Parliament had adopted a resolution on arms exports, stating that EU rules should take precedence over any economic, social, commercial or industrial interest of member states.
EU Arms embargo ?
Borrell eluded a question over the possibility to impose an EU arms embargo on Turkey.
The question of an arms embargo against Turkey was raised by Greece at the October summit, a request which was ultimately blocked by Germany, Italy, Spain and Hungary, Euractiv wrote.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to raise the issue again at this week’s summit meeting.
Mitsotakis recently stressed that European countries should not supply munitions to a country that can use these munitions against other EU member states.
The Turkish foreign ministry has criticized the EU for discussing sanctions, saying such debate was not helpful.