The Yavuz drill ship moored in a port in Kocaeli province, northwestern Turkey, photographed on June 20, 2019. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Xu Suo)
BEIJING, 12 Jul (Xinhua) -- Turkey's recent dispatch of two drilling vessels in the Mediterranean sea near Cyprus to explore for oil and gas has provoked protests in Cyprus and warnings from the European Union. The media reported on the 11th that the EU is preparing to impose sanctions on Turkey, including the suspension of high-level negotiations between the two sides and the freezing of financial assistance to Turkey.
A draft EU statement obtained by Reuters shows the EU will suspend high-level dialogue with Turkey, suspend air transport agreement negotiations and freeze financial aid to Turkey next year. Representatives of the EUROPEAN Union are scheduled to meet in Brussels on the 11th to discuss whether to revise the draft.
Once the content of the draft has been determined, the EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting is expected to adopt the statement on the 15th.
Cyprus, a member of the European Union, has identified Turkish drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean as an encroachment on Cyprus' exclusive economic zone. Turkey believes that this area is located within turkey's continental shelf. The EU has designated Turkey's oil and gas extraction as "illegal", with earlier warnings giving Turkey an "appropriate response". The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 10th, saying that the Turkish mining activities are legal and refuting the designations of the EU.
"In view of the continuation of new illegal drilling activities in Turkey, the EU has decided to suspend negotiations on the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement and agreed not to hold the High-level Dialogue for the time being," the EU said in the draft statement. ”
According to the draft, the EU will reduce pre-accession assistance to Turkey in 2020, urging the European Investment Bank to review its lending activities in Turkey; if Turkey continues drilling activities, the EU will take more restrictive measures.
Turkey applied to join the European Community, the predecessor of the European Union, in 1987, was a candidate in 1999, and launched accession negotiations in 2005, but the negotiation process was hampered. Turkey's massive purge in the wake of an attempted military coup in July 2016 formally halted Turkey's accession process. However, the EU remains dependent on Turkey for security matters and for dealing with illegal immigration.
An EU diplomat involved in the sanctions discussions said the EU sanctions were only targeted at people specifically linked to "illegal" drilling. "We are working on careful calibration because we need to cooperate with Turkey on immigration matters, NATO matters, counterterrorism."
The diplomat said some EU countries are dependent on Turkey for energy transport and "we must be careful not to anticipate any broader economic sanctions".
Some EU diplomats have revealed that while Cyprus is pushing for tougher language in the EU's sanctions statement, some EU countries are wary of cutting off all high-level communication channels with Turkey.
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