EU leaders reached a deal over how to tackle Turkey, agreeing early Friday to tacitly warn Ankara of sanctions if it fails to resolve long-standing disputes with Greece and Cyprus, including over energy drilling in the Mediterranean.
But the leaders also dangled some tantalizing plums should Turkey cool the tensions with its EU neighbors, including enhanced trade ties under a modernized customs union, and further cooperation on migration and refugee issues.
They also adopted some deliberately ambiguous language on “people to people contacts” that Ankara can interpret as potential easing of visa requirements for Turkish travelers to the EU. Some EU officials, however, said such an analysis would be overly optimistic. And EU diplomats were braced for Turkey to react negatively to some of the wording in the text.
There was no mistaking the threat of sanctions. “In case of renewed unilateral actions or provocations in breach of international law, the EU will use all the instruments and the options at its disposal,” the leaders warned in their conclusions, along with a citation of EU treaty provisions on sanctions.
“It is very much our wish to have a stronger voice on the international stage,” European Council President Charles Michel said at a news conference. “We are prepared to engage in a more positive agenda with Turkey, provided that Turkey also engages in a more positive direction with us, and puts an end to these unilateral actions, which go against international law.”
The EU has sided firmly with Greece and Cyprus in the drilling fight, but Brussels has also been trying to manage an array of other tensions with Turkey.
The accord on Turkey came shortly before 1 a.m. Friday, after the first day of an EU leaders’ summit devoted almost entirely to foreign affairs.
The deal proved enough to get Cyprus to stop blocking the imposition of sanctions in another foreign policy hot spot, Belarus, over its disputed presidential election — widely condemned as fraudulent — and violent repression of protesters.
Cyprus had withheld its support for sanctioning Belarusian officials in order to push other EU countries to take a tougher line against Turkey. In the end, though, that pressure campaign seemed to yield very little.
While Cyprus propelled the Turkey debate to the very top of the leaders’ agenda, Nicosia also faced a severe backlash for holding EU foreign policy hostage and its delay of action on Belarus led to some renewed calls for ending the unanimity requirement for such decisions.
No trigger
In their conclusions, the leaders did not adopt an automatic trigger of sanctions against Turkey as Cyprus had hoped. But they did call on Turkey “to accept the invitation by Cyprus to engage in dialogue with the objective of settling all maritime-related disputes between Turkey and Cyprus” and reiterated support for U.N. negotiations to end the decades-long partition of Cyprus.
Tensions had escalated dangerously in recent months between Greece and Turkey, longtime rivals in the Mediterranean, and between Cyprus and Turkey, which have clashed bitterly over the divided island since a Turkish invasion in 1974.
Greece and Cyprus have also accused Turkey of violating their sovereignty by drilling or exploring for gas in parts of the eastern Mediterranean that the two EU countries each claim as their own territorial waters.
The EU has sided firmly with Greece and Cyprus in the drilling fight, but Brussels has also been trying to manage an array of other tensions with Turkey, and desperately needs Ankara’s cooperation on other issues, particularly on managing migration.
Under a 2016 deal, the EU has paid billions in aid to help Turkey cope with some 3 million refugees, mostly from Syria, some of whom might otherwise attempt to relocate to the EU. But Turkey has also accused Brussels of failing to fulfill some aspects of the deal, including steps toward establishing a customs union, and easing of visa requirements for Turks traveling to the EU.
Germany had pushed a somewhat softer line, aiming to offer incentives to Ankara that would achieve EU political objectives and potentially grant Turkey’s wishes as well.
President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron | Olivier Hoslet/EPA
The leaders’ conclusions reflected Germany’s collegial approach, though tempered somewhat by French President Emmanuel Macron, who took a harder line — in negotiations and speaking to reporters afterward.
“We cannot reengage in a dialogue with Turkey if we allow it to cross red lines,” Macron told a news conference. “We have to show firmness and clarity.”
The leaders’ conclusions stated, “Provided constructive efforts to stop illegal activities vis-à-vis Greece and Cyprus are sustained, the European Council has agreed to launch a positive political EU-Turkey agenda, with a specific emphasis on the modernisation of the Customs Union and trade facilitation, people to people contacts, high level dialogues, [and] continued cooperation on migration issues.”
Early drafts of the text were rejected, especially by Greece, which argued they were too soft on Turkey. The final language also scrapped a mention of needing to address the sharing of hydrocarbon resources around Cyprus. One of Ankara’s key demands is that Turkish Cypriots should get a fair share of any energy deposits around the divided island. Nicosia agrees on that general point but there has been no accord on how to achieve it.
Merkel said the summit had produced a good outcome for the EU, despite long and demanding debates.
Nodding to Cyprus, the leaders also set a deadline for Turkey to change course, declaring they would take stock again no later than their December summit.
But the overall package seemed to reflect German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s desire to see relations with Ankara through the lens of the EU’s overall strategic interests.
“It is necessary to look at the entirety of relations with Turkey,” Merkel told reporters.
On Belarus, officials said the process to adopt punitive measures would start Friday. But at his news conference, Michel acknowledged the country’s embattled strongman ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, was not personally named on the sanctions list.
Charles Michel suggested Lukashenko could be targeted in follow-up measures | Olivier Hoslet/AFP via Getty Images
For his part, Macron said that decision was made because the EU still hopes Lukashenko may accept international mediation to resolve the country’s political crisis.
Michel suggested Lukashenko could be targeted in follow-up measures.
The leaders also issued a condemnation of the escalation of the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. They demanded, “an immediate cessation of hostilities” and urged “all parties to recommit to a lasting ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict. The loss of life and the toll on the civilian population are unacceptable.”
The leaders also condemned the assassination attempt on Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
As with the call for renewed negotiations about Cyprus, the statement on Nagorno-Karabakh highlighted the failure of mediation efforts led by Western powers to resolve a seemingly intractable dispute.
In their conclusions, the leaders also condemned the assassination attempt on the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and called on Russia to cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Merkel said the summit had produced a good outcome for the EU, despite long and demanding debates.
“All in all, it was an extensive, sometimes difficult discussion today, but we have pulled ourselves together and can point to results,” Merkel said. “And I consider the fact that the sanctions against Belarus on the one hand and the approach to Turkey on the other have been agreed is a great step forward.”
Lili Bayer, Hans van der Burchard and Nektaria Stamouli contributed reporting.