Brussels, Belgium. The European Parliament’s annual progress report on relations with Turkey said on June 17 that Turkey’s continuing occupation of Cyprus remains an obstacle to its European Union accession, while concerns over democratic freedoms in the country remain unresolved.
Report findings
In a statement, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs said it regretted that, despite repeated statements by the Turkish government recommitting to the goal of EU membership, “persistent and serious concerns raised in its previous reports regarding shortcomings affecting the accession process remain unaddressed”.
The report highlighted Turkey’s continuing occupation of Cyprus as an obstacle to accession and referred to the clamping down of democratic freedoms in the country.
Farantouris comments on diplomacy and security
Nikolas Farantouris, a Greek member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs from PASOK – S&D, said Greece and Cyprus need a strategic shift in diplomacy in response to what he described as Turkish revisionism and the “Blue Homeland” doctrine.
He said the two countries should use their presence in international organisations and the Greek and Cypriot diasporas to strengthen their position against Turkish aggression.
Farantouris said Turkish actions in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean amount to an attempt to unilaterally and illegally alter established boundaries, challenge sovereign rights and create a situation that directly concerns the European Union. He added that the security of Cyprus is inseparable from the security of the European Union as a whole.
Visit to Cyprus and EU-US dialogue
Farantouris said he was visiting Cyprus as a member of the European Parliament and in his capacity as a member of the Delegation for Relations with the United States, following his appointment to PASOK’s shadow cabinet on foreign policy.
He said his visit formed part of the EU-US interparliamentary dialogue, during which issues including developments in the Middle East, trade agreements, security and defence, and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean would be discussed.
According to Farantouris, current circumstances confirm that Cyprus holds a pivotal geopolitical position in these matters, a fact recognised by European governments and in Washington.
Comments on Turkish F-16 deployment
On the deployment of Turkish F-16 fighter jets in the occupied territories, Farantouris described the move as a provocative action by Ankara directed against Cyprus.
He said he had submitted an urgent parliamentary question to the European Commission and informed members of the US Congress in Washington, stating that the transfer and deployment of military aircraft by Turkey to illegally occupied European territory raises serious concerns under European, international and US law, particularly because the aircraft are American military equipment.
