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EU Parliament Drives Home Threat of Extra Sanctions on Turkey

EU Parliament Drives Home Threat of Extra Sanctions on Turkey

The European Parliament urged more sanctions against Turkey over its controversial energy hunt in disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean unless the country shows “sincere cooperation and concrete progress” in easing tensions with Greece and Cyprus.

European Union governments should “stand ready to develop a list of further restrictive measures in the absence of any significant progress in engaging with Turkey,” the 27-nation Parliament said in a resolution approved on Thursday in Brussels. “Such measures should be sectoral and targeted.”

In the non-binding contribution to a Sept. 24-25 meeting of EU government leaders at which Turkey will be a focus, the assembly also said “further sanctions can only be avoided through dialog, sincere cooperation and concrete progress on the ground.”

In February, the EU imposed asset freezes and travel bans on two employees of Turkish Petroleum Corp. in response to Turkey’s natural-gas exploration off Cyprus.

EU Parliament Drives Home Threat of Extra Sanctions on Turkey

After Turkey widened its search to waters claimed by Greece, the EU’s resolve to draw up additional penalties has grown.

The EU Parliament resolution on Thursday was drafted by six of the assembly’s seven political groups -- ranging from the right-of-center Christian Democrats and Conservatives/Reformists to the left-wing Greens and ex-communists.

Greece says that islands must be taken into account in delineating a country’s continental shelf, in line with the United Nations Law of the Sea, which Turkey has not signed. Ankara argues that a country’s continental shelf should be measured from its mainland, and that the area south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo -- just a few kilometers off Turkey’s southern coast -- therefore falls within its exclusive zone.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.