EU downgrades diplomatic ties, funding with Turkey over Cyprus gas drilling
Ankara remains undeterred as EU imposes punitive measures on Turkey over controversial gas drilling activities near Cyprus.
In the latest escalation over Turkey’s gas drilling activities within disputed offshore territories near Cyprus, EU foreign ministers imposed an initial round of punitive measures on Ankara on Monday evening. The move follows months of increasing tensions, in which the Republic of Cyprus issued arrest warrants for crewmembers aboard Turkish gas exploration ships and Ankara responded by deploying a third ship, expanding its energy development operations off the island’s shores.
The measures include the suspension of high-level diplomatic contact between the EU and Turkey, as well as negotiations on the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement, which regulates regional commercial flights, and a reduction of pre-EU accession financial aid for Turkey in 2020. EU ministers also prompted the European Investment Bank to review its lending programs in Turkey, which totaled $434 million in 2018.
