On Monday 25 January, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, advocated continuing the positive momentum with Turkey, a few days after the head of Turkish diplomacy, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, visited Brussels. (see EUROPE 12641/17).
According to Mr Borrell, the Foreign Affairs Council reaffirmed the importance of engaging with Turkey in order to make progress in consolidated dialogue and cooperation. “Today, the irritations that poisoned life in the summer and last autumn have stopped”, the High Representative welcomed, noting that there were no more Turkish ships in the Greek and Cypriot exclusive economic zones and no more drilling activities. “We have agreed that each party should keep this momentum and use it to try to reach agreements”, he added.
The head of European diplomacy noted that on the same day discussions had been held between Greece and Turkey and hoped that by mid or late February discussions on the resolution of the Cyprus problem could be resumed. Mr Borrell added that the EU was ready to be invited as an observer to these talks, as it was in the last round of negotiations.
While the situation appears more positive than in 2020, the ambassadors of the Member States will continue to work on it, according to the latest conclusions of the European Council. In December, the latter had called for the adoption of sanctions in connection with illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Mr Borrell said that the technical work was continuing on this ‘listing’, that it was not yet ready, but that it was not being put aside and that the work was continuing. As tensions ease, some Member States, including Germany, are less inclined to adopt these measures. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)