France is leading a push for European Union sanctions on Turkey next month to follow through on a threat made by the bloc in October, but has yet to win support from EU governments beyond Greece and Cyprus, officials and diplomats have said - Aljazeera reports.
Paris says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not heeded EU leaders’ warnings on October 1 to back down in a dispute over gas exploration in the Mediterranean or face consequences.
The European Parliament is expected on Thursday to call for sanctions, decrying Erdogan’s visit earlier this month to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the island of Cyprus.
“Turkey knows what it needs to do,” France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a French parliamentary hearing this week.
“Confrontation or collaboration, it’s up to them.”
EU leaders on December 10-11 will meet to discuss a range of issues, including external relations and the ongoing dispute between Turkey and EU member states Greece and Cyprus.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has criticised the EU for discussing sanctions, saying such debate was not helpful.
No detailed sanctions have been drawn up by France, but diplomats told Reuters news agency any measures would hit areas of Turkey’s economy aimed at limiting Turkish hydrocarbon exploration, likely in shipping, banking and energy.
Also at stake are a plan to broaden Turkey’s trade preferences with the EU, its top trading partner, and its formal status as a candidate to join the EU, which Austria says should end.
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