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Taoiseach Micheál Martin will sum up Ireland’s concerns about the impact of Brexit when EU leaders meet on the second day of the summit this morning.
It comes as the EU agreed to impose sanctions on the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus after a nightly summit in Brussels, and issued a veiled threat to apply sanctions against Turkey if it continues to drill gas in Greek and Cypriot waters.
Europe has been unable to reach unanimous agreement on sanctions against members of the Lukashenko regime in Belarus because Cyprus had demanded that member states also be tough on Turkey following its drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean.
Last night, EU leaders forged an agreement, issuing a statement that Europe would use all options at its disposal if Turkey continued with what it called unilateral actions or violations of international law in relation to its drilling activities.
That veiled threat of sanctions was balanced by some sweeteners if Turkey eased tensions with its neighbors, such as improved trade relations and greater cooperation on migration.
With the toughest declaration in place, Cyprus raised its objections to a series of sanctions against some 40 members of the regime in Belarus, following the brutal post-election crackdown there.
The leaders called on the government to end violence against protesters and release political prisoners.
Later this morning, the Taoiseach will address the leaders on the Brexit negotiations.
In light of yesterday’s legal action by the European Commission, he is expected to raise his concerns about the UK Internal Market Act, which violates the Northern Ireland Protocol, but also his hopes that it can still be done. reach a free trade agreement. UK in the coming weeks.
Also this morning, Mairead McGuinness will outline her priorities as EU Commissioner-Appointed for Financial Services to a committee of the European Parliament.
Defiant message from Erdogan
Before the summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a defiant note, telling his parliament that the EU had become a “hostage” to the “spoiled Greeks and the Greek Cypriot administration.”
He promised to keep his “determined approach.”
EU leaders have agreed to “closely monitor developments” in the eastern Mediterranean and return to the issue at another summit in December.
Despite mounting tensions with the Erdogan government, the EU is wary of alienating an important neighbor, a NATO member who played a crucial role in ending the continent’s 2015-16 migration crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has led a diplomatic rapprochement, was willing to emphasize that there is the potential to improve relations.
She said: “We also want to carry out this positive agenda, because we are aware of the importance of strategic relations with Turkey, despite all the differences.”
Tensions between Turkey and Greece have eased slightly, the two sides agreed to resume long-stalled talks and on Thursday they established a military hotline in NATO to prevent accidental clashes in the area.
EU leaders welcomed these steps and called for the efforts “to be sustained and expanded”.
Further complicating the talks with Turkey are allegations of Ankara meddling in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where nearly 130 people were killed in an outbreak between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
French President Emmanuel Macron demanded that Turkey explain what it said was the arrival of Syrian jihadist fighters in Azerbaijan. “A red line has been crossed, which is unacceptable,” he said. “I urge all NATO partners to address the behavior of a NATO member.”
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