Greece is attending the EU Summit in Brussels today, scheduled to start in the afternoon and largely focus on Turkey, with low expectations, as the lines have been drawn between two opposing views on how to react to Turkish aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean.
PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis seems determined to insist on both an explicit reference to sanctions against Ankara and the moral commitment to a European arms embargo on the Erdogan regime.
The agenda of the “27” meeting will include other issues, such as the European Union budget and the Development Fund, as well as the final settlement of the agreement on Britain’s exit from the Union (Brexit), but Greece and Cyprus have focused their efforts on engaging in a fierce diplomatic battle to bring Euro-Turkish relations to the table and the European leadership to honour its commitment by not turning a blind eye to Turkey’s delinquent behaviour.
The Greek side, with the support of a number of EU members states, which will attempt to decisively put forward a case for immediate and clear actions against Turkish aggression in the final text, will face a pro-Turkish stance by Berlin, as Chancellor Angela Merkel is aiming to keep Turkey out of the crosshairs, with the aid of Spain and Italy.
Germany had sought to exclude any reference to Turkey at the October Summit but eventually backed down, as the majority of European leaders were convinced of the validity of Greek positions.
In this light, European sources aware of the issue estimate that the most realistic expectation is to include in the conclusions reached tomorrow, Friday, a directive by the EU leaders to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell to draw up a list of sanctions against Ankara that will be activated in the near future.
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