The European Union supports the EastMed gas pipeline project as one
option of tapping gas supplies from the East Mediterranean for the EU, Peter Stano, lead EU spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told New Europe on June 5.
“The EU supports the EastMed pipeline project,” Stano said, adding that this pipeline is a Project of Common Interest under the 4th Union List and the related feasibility study receives EU funds. It should be seen as one option of tapping EastMed gas supplies for the EU alongside shipping it to the EU by tankers in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), he added.
On June 2, during a webinar, the energy ministers of Israel, Cyprus and Greece as well as US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Frank Fannon also reiterated their support for the EastMed pipeline.
However, on June 4, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meeting Libya’s internationally recognised leader Fayez Sarraj in Ankara, said Turkey would step-up its cooperation with Sarraj’s government, to drill for natural resources in the East Med based on an agreement on sea borders signed by Turkey and Libya last November.
The EU spokesman reminded that European leaders adopted at the European Council in December EU conclusions clearly stating that a memorandum of understanding signed by Turkey and Libya on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign rights of third States, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third States. “The European Council also unequivocally reaffirmed its solidarity with Greece and also Cyprus regarding these actions by Turkey,” Stano said.
The EU spokesperson reminded that on May 15, the EU Foreign Ministers also approved a statement about the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, “which demonstrates the EU’s unity in supporting Greece and Cyprus and sends a clear signal and a firm message to Turkey that we uphold our principles and interests.” The delimitation of EEZs and continental shelf should be addressed through dialogue and negotiation in good faith, in full respect of international law and in pursuit of the principle of good neighbourly relations, he said. “The most recent escalating actions by Turkey regrettably go in the opposite direction,” he added.
Stano called on all international community members to abide by these principles and refrain from any actions undermining regional stability and security. “The EU and Turkey have a strong interest in an improvement of their relations through a dialogue which is intended to create an environment of trust. We will continue our diplomatic engagement with Turkey to try to steer our relationship towards a cooperative and constructive approach,” the EU spokesperson said.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent letters on June 3 to the EU Council and Commission presidents protesting over Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Med. “We have seen reports about a letter sent by Prime Minister of Greece Mitsotakis to President of the European Commission (Ursula) von der Leyen,” Stano said. “We will check if the letter has already been received and reply in due time.”
Fannon told the webinar the Turkey-Libya MoU is “provocative” and could cause “instability” in the region. Charles Ellinas, a senior fellow at the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council, told New Europe on June 5 it helps that the US State Department has confirmed that islands are entitled to EEZs. This is the obvious outcome of applying the UN law of the seas, UNCLOS, he said. “But this support – by the US and the EU – and cooperation between Israel, Cyprus and Greece will not deter Turkey,” Ellinas said, adding that Ankara is determined to proceed with exploration and drilling in the EEZs of Cyprus and Greece taking advantage of the cessation of drilling activities by the international oil companies due to coronavirus and the crisis that has hit the oil and gas industry. “Turkey is still drilling in Cyprus EEZ, persisting with its East Med dominance plans – despite the crisis – clearly showing that there is no economic basis to its actions,” he said.
“Turkey is capitalising on its maritime ‘agreement’ with Libya, that it entered into specifically for this purpose,” Ellinas said, adding, “This, of course, impacts the rights of Cyprus or Greece to their EEZs and to a certain extent Egypt, but not Israel directly. Turkey is using the Libya deal, drilling in the EEZs of Cyprus and Greece, in order to create facts in support of its claims, perhaps in preparation for eventual negotiations”.
Read more at: EU reiterates support for EastMed pipe, urges Turkey to respect international law | New Europe
“The EU supports the EastMed pipeline project,” Stano said, adding that this pipeline is a Project of Common Interest under the 4th Union List and the related feasibility study receives EU funds. It should be seen as one option of tapping EastMed gas supplies for the EU alongside shipping it to the EU by tankers in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), he added.
On June 2, during a webinar, the energy ministers of Israel, Cyprus and Greece as well as US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Frank Fannon also reiterated their support for the EastMed pipeline.
However, on June 4, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meeting Libya’s internationally recognised leader Fayez Sarraj in Ankara, said Turkey would step-up its cooperation with Sarraj’s government, to drill for natural resources in the East Med based on an agreement on sea borders signed by Turkey and Libya last November.
The EU spokesman reminded that European leaders adopted at the European Council in December EU conclusions clearly stating that a memorandum of understanding signed by Turkey and Libya on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign rights of third States, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third States. “The European Council also unequivocally reaffirmed its solidarity with Greece and also Cyprus regarding these actions by Turkey,” Stano said.
The EU spokesperson reminded that on May 15, the EU Foreign Ministers also approved a statement about the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, “which demonstrates the EU’s unity in supporting Greece and Cyprus and sends a clear signal and a firm message to Turkey that we uphold our principles and interests.” The delimitation of EEZs and continental shelf should be addressed through dialogue and negotiation in good faith, in full respect of international law and in pursuit of the principle of good neighbourly relations, he said. “The most recent escalating actions by Turkey regrettably go in the opposite direction,” he added.
Stano called on all international community members to abide by these principles and refrain from any actions undermining regional stability and security. “The EU and Turkey have a strong interest in an improvement of their relations through a dialogue which is intended to create an environment of trust. We will continue our diplomatic engagement with Turkey to try to steer our relationship towards a cooperative and constructive approach,” the EU spokesperson said.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent letters on June 3 to the EU Council and Commission presidents protesting over Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Med. “We have seen reports about a letter sent by Prime Minister of Greece Mitsotakis to President of the European Commission (Ursula) von der Leyen,” Stano said. “We will check if the letter has already been received and reply in due time.”
Fannon told the webinar the Turkey-Libya MoU is “provocative” and could cause “instability” in the region. Charles Ellinas, a senior fellow at the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council, told New Europe on June 5 it helps that the US State Department has confirmed that islands are entitled to EEZs. This is the obvious outcome of applying the UN law of the seas, UNCLOS, he said. “But this support – by the US and the EU – and cooperation between Israel, Cyprus and Greece will not deter Turkey,” Ellinas said, adding that Ankara is determined to proceed with exploration and drilling in the EEZs of Cyprus and Greece taking advantage of the cessation of drilling activities by the international oil companies due to coronavirus and the crisis that has hit the oil and gas industry. “Turkey is still drilling in Cyprus EEZ, persisting with its East Med dominance plans – despite the crisis – clearly showing that there is no economic basis to its actions,” he said.
“Turkey is capitalising on its maritime ‘agreement’ with Libya, that it entered into specifically for this purpose,” Ellinas said, adding, “This, of course, impacts the rights of Cyprus or Greece to their EEZs and to a certain extent Egypt, but not Israel directly. Turkey is using the Libya deal, drilling in the EEZs of Cyprus and Greece, in order to create facts in support of its claims, perhaps in preparation for eventual negotiations”.
Read more at: EU reiterates support for EastMed pipe, urges Turkey to respect international law | New Europe
