Turkey, Greece row reignited over 'Turkaegean' trademark dispute
Turkey’s tourism campaign with the slogan “Turkaegean” reignites tensions in Athens, which considers it both cultural usurpation and a threat to Greek sovereignty in the Aegean.
IZMIR, Turkey — Aegean frenemies Turkey and Greece softened their belligerent rhetoric toward each other as they headed for mid-May elections. They helped each other in the face of natural disasters, hinted at a moratorium on risky military exercises, agreed to back up each other’s nominees in international organizations and even revived their high-level talks after a year.
But with the tourism season, a newish conflict flashed up around the slogan “Turkaegean,” which Turkey uses in its tourism campaigns in Europe and the United States. Athens first objected to the term last summer after Ankara registered it as a trademark with the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the World International Property Organization (WIPO). The Greek reserve to the name is multifold. While some Greeks consider it an issue related to Greece’s tourism image and a usurpation of the Greek culture, others claim that it is a declaration of Turkey’s expansionist dreams because it came at a time when Ankara repetitively questioned the Greek sovereignty over the Aegean Islands.
“This is not an innocent advert but another argument being used to ultimately question our sovereignty over Greek islands in the Aegean and our rights in maritime economic zones,” said George Katrougalos, the former foreign minister from Syriza. “The term implies, as a corollary of [Ankara’s] propaganda, that all, or most, of the Aegean is Turkish.”
Turkaegean vibes pulsing through each and every corner of Ayvalık bring summer vacation-lovers back to Balıkesir, time after time. #Balıkesir
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