EU leaders agree on expanding economic sanctions on Turkey as Mediterranean row escalate

European Union leaders, on December 11, agreed on expanding sanctions against Turkey over its exploration of gas reserves in Mediterranean waters, claimed by EU members Greece and Cyprus. Regrettably, Turkey has engaged in “unilateral actions and provocations and escalated its rhetoric against the EU, EU member states and European leaders”, they said in a statement from their summit in Brussels. However, these sanctions seem to have little or no effect over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who, last week, asserted that he was “not concerned” by any kind of economic sanction by the EU.   

The EU leaders collectively asked EU Policy chief Josep Borrell to draw a report on State of EU-Turkey political, economic and trade relations and to suggest how to proceed on the imposition of sanctions. They urged him to submit a final report by the time they hold their next summit in March 2021. "The stakes are very precise, very clear: the credibility of the European Union", Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was quoted as saying by AP.

European countries have been divided on how to handle Turkey. While France and Cyprus, both have supported economic sanctions, other nations are have reckoned softer measures in a bid not destabilize country’s already plummeting economy. As per Euractiv,  Germany and Bulgaria even tried to block sanction in the Brussels summit.

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Turkey-EU relations

Meanwhile, relations between Turkey and the European Union have not been at its best for the past several months over Ankara's "illegal" gas exploration expeditions in the Mediterranean Sea, especially in areas claimed by the EU-member state Greece. Turkey and the EU are also at loggerheads over the Cyprus island issue, which is currently being controlled by Ankara in the north and Athens in the south since the 1974 Turkish invasion. EU is also contemplating sanctions over Erdogan's recent visit to Turkish Cypriot island, a move which angered the bloc. 

Turkey and the European Union are both members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which makes the row even more distressing for both sides. It remains to be seen how Ankara and Brussels would take their relationship forward, if the EU goes ahead with the planned sanctions during the forthcoming Summit on December 10-11.

Previously, European Council President Charles Michel has warned Turkey not to play “cat and mouse” by withdrawing ships before EU summits, only to redeploy them afterwards.

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