EU Council on Enlargement Warns Turkey to Respect Sovereignty of Cyprus, Greece
European Union member-states are calling on the European Commission to propose appropriate measures against Turkey because of the continuing drilling in the Cyprus Republic's Exclusive Economic Zone, Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said on Tuesday during a press conference following a session of the Council of the EU. At the meeting on progress in enlargement of the EU on Tuesday, the Council also reiterated that it has "frozen" talks with Turkey on accession and on the customs union with it. "The Council expresses serious concerns over Turkey's current illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and deplores that Turkey has not yet responded to the European Union's repeated calls to cease such activities," the Council said in a statement on the proceedings. It "underlines the serious immediate negative impact that such illegal actions have across the range of EU-Turkey relations," it said, and "calls on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus, and refrain from any such actions."