EU should send clear message to Turkey, says PM
EU leaders meeting on Thursday and Friday should abide by their previous decisions and “send a clear message” to Turkey, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday, referring to the conclusions of the European Council in October.
“Turkey has rejected Europe's offer to pursue a positive agenda, choosing the path of unilateral action that brings it face to face with consequences,” he said at a virtual meeting of the European People's Party (EPP) in preparation of the summit.
Mitsotakis said Turkey had many opportunities to stop its provocations and withdraw its survey ship from the Greek continental shelf, but chose to do so ostensibly ten days before the European Council.
He also raised the issue of the partial re-opening of Varosha, the fenced-off southern quarter of the city of Famagusta in Turkish-occupied Cyprus, and the now clear rhetoric by Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriot leader for a two-state solution.
According to a draft statement prepared for EU leaders to agree at a summit on Thursday and seen by Reuters, the EU will impose sanctions on more Turkish individuals and companies responsible for drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean.
If agreed, the EU will "prepare additional listings" on the basis of a sanctions list already in place since 2019 and "if need be work on the extension" of its scope.
