A report from the US website Bloomberg on Tuesday suggests that the EU has agreed to impose sanctions on two Turkish nationals in regard to the country’s illegal actions inside the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus.
The American news and financial website’s story quotes two EU diplomats, who declined to make their names public.
The Bloomberg report states unequivocally that “European Union diplomats agreed to impose travel bans on two Turkish nationals and freeze their assets in retaliation for Ankara’s gas prospecting in disputed waters near Cyprus”.
This decision was reportedly reached at a meeting held in Brussels; however, this will not be considered official and public until all the appropriate legal paperwork is finished later this month.
One could describe this move as a direct escalation against Turkey on behalf of the EU to support Cyprus, since technically Turkey is still a candidate member for the European Union.
If these diplomatic sources prove correct, then the European Union would have taken another step toward showing its clear unwillingness to support Cyprus at a high diplomatic level.
EU officials try to explain this mild reaction towards Turkey by saying that they must try to balance between supporting the sovereign rights of one of its members and not enraging Turkey, which holds the keys to the European gates regarding the seemingly never-ending influx of refugees and illegal immigrants.
Source: Greek Reporter, Bloomberg
