Cypriot MEPs criticise Turkey’s actions and EU response in Strasbourg

Strasbourg, France. Cypriot members of the European Parliament criticised Turkey’s actions in the eastern Mediterranean during Thursday’s plenary session, questioning the European Union’s response. Diko MEP Costas Mavrides called for economic and political sanctions, while Disy MEP Loucas Fourlas cited aerial and maritime violations recorded by Cyprus.

Mavrides challenges EU policy towards Turkey

Mavrides criticised “Blue Homeland”, the name given to Turkey’s maritime claims, saying the term was “for us”.

“Escalations in both the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean seas follow persistent Turkish provocations, with the latest, as has already been said, the so-called neo-Ottoman blue fantasy … I don’t call it the Blue Homeland. The Blue Homeland is for us,” he said.

He also accused Turkey of “the continuing occupation, as you know very well, of EU territory in Cyprus” and of violating the air and maritime sovereign rights of Cyprus and Greece, both EU member states.

Mavrides said the EU’s “appeasement policy” towards Turkey did not work.

“Soft wording and a so-called positive agenda towards Turkey do not work. What does work? Well, we tried. We tried on Russia. Economic and political sanctions against an aggressor and occupier,” he said.

Addressing the European Commission’s Cyprus problem envoy, Raffaele Fitto, who attended the plenary session, Mavrides asked whether he could explain to European citizens, not only those in Cyprus and Greece, why the EU imposed sanctions on Russia but not Turkey.

He said sanctions against Russia as “the aggressor” were justified, while describing Turkey as “the occupier and aggressor” and a violator of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, European law and other laws.

Fourlas cites aerial and maritime violations

Fourlas said the Republic of Cyprus had recorded 520 aerial and 23 maritime violations conducted by Turkey over three months.

Despite those figures, he said, “here we are, still debating whether and how Europe will react”.

“How many violations does it take for Europe to finally realise there is a problem? If this were happening in Germany, Italy, or Spain, would you accept it? In Estonia?” he asked.

Fourlas then told Fitto to “take notes because this list is very long” and said that “Turkey is behaving like a pirate in the eastern Mediterranean”.