EU Split Over Tougher Action on Turkey Ahead of Crucial Summit - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2020) The European Union is on the fence about sanctioning Ankara over what it sees as Turkish provocations in the Mediterranean, ahead of a crucial summit this week, a Brussels-based news website cited its sources as saying Monday.

EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to agree their security and foreign policy posture, including on Turkey, after demanding in October that it stop drilling in Cypriot waters.

Unnamed sources told Euractiv that Cyprus, Greece, France, Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia were in favor of taking a hard line on Turkey over its perceived transgressions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

However, a group of nations led by the EU powerhouse Germany has been opposed to imposing sanctions on Ankara, opting instead for a "wait-and-see" approach toward their key trade partner.

The outlet said sources did not rule out that 27 EU leaders could agree a list of "light sanctions," which might be put on paper by foreign ministers in January and discussed at the next summit in March. It will be held under the presidency of Portugal, which has remained silent on the matter.