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The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the Summit (photo by Johanna Geron, Pool via AP).
BRUSSELS – ANSWER. The 27 EU member states reached an agreement on their stance on Turkey, after tough negotiations, thus removing the deadlock that had been created regarding the imposition of sanctions on Belarus. As the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced shortly after 2 am, “we have agreed on a dual strategy” towards Turkey. “A positive agenda with Turkey presupposes positive movements and, in turn, the end of unilateral actions that violate international law,” Michel said, confirming that the European Council will return to the issue of Ankara’s position next December. . “No one can divide us,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Although the discussion on the strategic relationship with Ankara was scheduled for the leaders’ dinner, it was decided to start from the beginning of the meeting, along with the Belarus topic. “It was a decision of the President of the European Council Michel, because everything depends on Turkey,” said a source.
Until the early hours of the morning, efforts continued to find wording that would satisfy all parties. The Greek and Cypriot parties requested amendments to the first draft, which was published around 6pm local time. The draft expresses the solidarity of the EU. with Greece and Cyprus, “whose sovereignty and sovereign rights must be respected.”
The “27” welcomed the agreement for the resumption of exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey and called on Ankara to stop “illegal” exploration and drilling in “disputed waters” in the eastern Mediterranean. Reference was also made to the need for a “speedy resumption” of the talks on the Cyprus issue, which will include the issue of the allocation of possible gas revenues in adjacent maritime areas. Under the condition of a “long-term” de-escalation in the region, she said, a new positive agenda could be launched with Turkey, focused on modernizing the customs union, resuming high-level political dialogue and more frequent contacts at the societal. . The draft does not mention sanctions, but rather the use of “all available tools” to defend the sovereign rights of member states.
Mr Michel interrupted the meeting and then a meeting took place between Mitsotakis, Anastasiadis, Merkel and Macron, with their participation, to find a compromise (despite initial information, Ursula von der Leyen did not participate in the meeting). According to the information, the Greek side insisted that the reference to a future dialogue with Ankara should be balanced with a reference to sanctions in case the de-escalation proves pretentious. Chancellor Merkel, however, declined any reference to the sanctions, citing, among other things, the previously announced agreement on a conflict resolution mechanism between Athens and Ankara under the auspices of NATO. Athens also suggested demanding an “immediate end” to Turkey’s activities in the Cypriot EEZ and including a reference to the role of the International Court of Justice in The Hague in settling disputes over the delimitation of maritime zones.
During the leaders’ dinner, the new draft was presented, with clearer references to Turkey. According to this, the EU “strongly condemns” illegal Turkish drilling (the first draft simply said they should stop). In addition, the wording on the use of all the available tools is included, with reference to the specific articles of the Treaties (29 of the Treaty on European Union and 215 of the TFEU) referring to the sanctions procedure and committed by the EU. to decide in December whether Turkey has complied with the terms of the substantial reduction. The new amendment removes the reference to the sharing of gas revenues between Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriot community.
