EU reaffirms opposition to Turkish gas drilling; 'all options on the table'

London — EU leaders on Aug. 19 reaffirmed their opposition to Turkey's "illegal" drilling activities offshore Cyprus and agreed that "all options will be on the table" at the next European Council summit in September.

Tensions in the East Mediterranean have increased in recent weeks with Turkey both extending the drilling schedule for its drillship Yavuz offshore Cyprus and saying it was resuming surveying activities in disputed maritime areas.

"We are increasingly concerned about the growing tensions and stressed the urgent need to de-escalate," the Council said in its conclusions following the meeting of EU leaders.

"We expressed our full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus and recalled and reaffirmed our previous conclusions on the illegal drilling activities. We agreed to revert to these issues during our meeting in September. All options will be on the table," it said.

Speaking at a press conference later Aug. 19, European Council President Charles Michel said the September summit would be held in person in Brussels, rather than by videoconference.

He said EU member states would then be able to go into detail to find a "clear, strong and common strategy" with regard to the EU's relationship with Turkey.

Michel added that the EU was monitoring the situation in the East Mediterranean closely on a day-to-day basis.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, also speaking at the press conference, called for willingness "on all sides to engage in a problem-solving dialogue."

Turkey activity

It was reported Aug. 17 that Turkey's upstream operator TPAO planned to continue operating the Yavuz in the East Mediterranean southwest of Cyprus between Aug.18 and Sept. 15, warning that it was "strongly recommended not to enter the working area."

The Yavuz and a second Turkish drillship, the Fatih, have both drilled previous wells inside the area claimed by Cyprus as its EEZ. No results of the any of the wells drilled have been announced.

EU foreign ministers met Aug. 14 in an emergency summit convened by EU High Representative Josep Borrell to discuss Turkey's offshore activities.

In their conclusions, they said Borrell would prepare options on "further appropriate measures in case tensions do not abate."

The EU in February already imposed sanctions on two TPAO officials as a result of what Brussels described as "unauthorized" drilling offshore Cyprus.

Separately, the Council also agreed Aug. 19 to impose targeted sanctions soon against a "substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, repression and the falsification of election results" in Belarus.

The Council said progress made in the past years in the relationship between the EU and Belarus was now "at risk."

"Any further deterioration of the situation will impact on our relationship and have negative consequences," it said.