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“White smoke” from the Brussels Summit.
The “27” after 9 hours of consultations agreed shortly before 2:00 in the morning for the draft conclusions, for “the way to deal with Turkey.” Apart from Turkey, the plan with possible sanctions for Belarus was decided on the occasion of the presidential elections in the country, where Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected under strong questioning of the electoral result. The Summit will continue its meeting in the morning at 10:30 GMT.
Michelle and Layen warn of possible sanctions
At the end of the meeting, Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen held a press conference, in which they avoided using the word “sanctions” for Turkey, but used the word “tools”, noting that they are on the table and, if necessary, “will be used”.
According to Politico, Michel stressed that the EU warns Turkey to reduce tensions so that there are no sanctions, but noted that Europe is ready to start a new political dialogue and that the next two weeks will do so. they are crucial to the relationship between the two parties.
Layen: Our solidarity in Cyprus and Greece is clear
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Ursula von der Leyen at the press conference stated that the EU is clearly in solidarity with Cyprus and Greece and stressed that there are “tools” in the drawer, which involve sanctions, but the “27” do not want to use them.
“Once again I want to emphasize our solidarity with Greece and Cyprus. And it is clear that no one can come between us,” said Der Layen clearly and continued: “The tension in the Eastern Mediterranean has risen a lot. It is good that there is a credible dialogue between Greece and Turkey, but Ankara has not made any progress with Cyprus. We want a credible relationship with Turkey and this will only happen if the provocative attitudes towards Cyprus stop. We have a tool that we can use if the situation demands it, but we don’t want that. “We want to dialogue and work to improve our cooperation with Turkey, such as in trade and immigration, on the agreement that has been in place since 2016. We want to build a solid relationship with Turkey.”
Michel: We have the tools to react to Turkey
For his part, Charles Michel reiterated that the EU “is ready to use all possible tools, if necessary” for Turkey and that the next two weeks will be crucial for Euro-Turkish relations.
“We want a political dialogue to achieve stability in our relations,” Michel said of Turkey, but warned that he expects Ankara to take steps forward in its conduct in the eastern Mediterranean.
Agreement after Michel’s corrections
The summit ended shortly before 2:00 a.m., although officials previously spoke of a second break. The “27” will continue the Summit at 10:30 am (Greek time), after they arrived today in the draft conclusions for the attitude towards Turkey.
The meeting turned into a thriller in the afternoon, as Greece and Cyprus rejected the original draft, which could not be accepted because there was a “slight” reference to Turkey, which is estimated to have been made with the intervention of Merkel, which did not did. he wanted to make Erdogan unhappy.
This was followed by an extraordinary meeting between Mitsotakis, Merkel, Macron, Anastasiadis and Michel, with the latter agreeing to make corrections to the text that would satisfy Athens and Nicosia.
What Michelle said in the final draft
Charles Michel delivered a new draft conclusions for Turkey to the 27 delegations. The new text builds on the previous two and adds the EU’s condemnation of illegal Turkish drilling within the Cyprus EEZ.
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It states that the EU is “fully committed to resolving the Cyprus issue”, retains the phrase “use all means” in the event of unilateral action by Turkey, commits the Council to take decisions before December, and includes the Greek phrase “delimitation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones”.
The proposed new text also emphasizes that the EU “calls on Turkey to initiate a dialogue aimed at resolving all maritime disputes with Cyprus” and notes that the European Council “remains fully committed to a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem.”
Another point that has been corrected is the wording that states that “in the event of a resumption of unilateral action or a challenge in violation of international law, the EU will use all the means and options at its disposal, including in accordance with Article 29 of the TEU and Article 215 TFEU, in order to defend their interests and the interests of their Member States “, referring to possible sanctions, although the word is not mentioned.
The new draft also removes an earlier mention that the distribution of hydrocarbon resources in Cyprus needs to be addressed, while emphasizing that “the European Council will continue to closely monitor developments and will return accordingly and make decisions, as appropriate, to no later than the December Summit. “
Greece’s counterproposal
Before the corrections in Michel’s draft, the Greek side had proceeded with a 5-point proposal to the EU.
This proposal included the following points:
- “The EU remains committed to creating an environment of trust and an environment of mutually beneficial cooperation and cooperation with Turkey.”
- “Unilateral hydrocarbon exploration must end immediately.”
- “Turkey must enter into a dialogue in good faith and refrain from unilateral actions that would go against the interests of the EU and violate international law and the sovereign rights of member states, which is an absolute precondition.”
- “The EU welcomes the steps to build trust between Greece and Turkey and the announcement of the resumption of direct exploratory contacts for the delimitation of the continental shelf and the EEZ of the two countries, through negotiations and recourse to the International Court of Justice”.
- “The EU reiterates that unilateral declarations of maritime jurisdiction as in the map of the Blue Homeland do not comply with the Law of the Sea and do not produce legal effects for third countries.”
Sanctions to 40 officials in Belarus
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In addition to Turkey, the “27” decided to proceed with sanctions against some 40 Belarusian officials. The Europeans have agreed to impose sanctions on those responsible for the repression in Belarus, diplomatic sources told AFP. The list, however, does not include President Lukashenko, according to Politico.
Its implementation will proceed after an agreement is reached to send a strong message from the EU to Turkey, accompanied by the threat of sanctions in Ankara, as proposed by the Republic of Cyprus, according to the same sources.
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