The European Parliament held a debate today on rising tensions in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, including what Parliament described as persistent Turkish provocations.
The debate, requested by MEP Loucas Fourlas together with his Greek counterpart Manolis Kefalogiannis, brought together Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto and MEPs from across the political spectrum. The discussion focused on Turkish actions in the region, disputes over airspace and maritime rights, energy projects and the Cyprus issue.
Addressing Parliament, Fitto said the EU was closely monitoring tensions between Greece and Türkiye and called for restraint, dialogue, respect for international law and good-neighbourly relations. He stressed that “sustainable de-escalation” in the Eastern Mediterranean, alongside progress on a settlement of the Cyprus issue, was essential for regional stability and the future of EU-Türkiye relations.
The debate nevertheless saw strong criticism of Türkiye from Cypriot MEPs, with the exception of Fidias Panayiotou, who was absent from this week’s plenary session.
Fourlas highlighted what he described as the high number of violations recorded by Turkey against the Republic of Cyprus, questioning the EU’s response.
“In just three months, the Republic of Cyprus recorded 520 airspace violations and 23 maritime violations by Turkey. That is 543 violations,” he said. “And yet we are still discussing here whether and how Europe will respond. How many violations does Europe need before it finally understands that there is a problem?”
Speaking on behalf of The Left group, MEP Georgios Georgiou said Türkiye’s “Blue Homeland” doctrine posed a major threat to neighbouring countries. He cited Ankara’s maritime claims, the Türkiye-Libya maritime agreement and the obstruction of the Cyprus-Greece electricity interconnection project, while criticising what he described as the EU’s failure to respond. “Europe, quo vadis?” he asked.
Socialists and Democrats (S&D) MEP Costas Mavrides similarly described the escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean as the result of persistent Turkish provocations, including what he called the neo-Ottoman “Blue Fantasy”. “I refuse to call it the Blue Homeland because the homeland is ours,” he said.
Disputes over airspace and energy
The debate also touched on continuing disputes over Greek airspace. According to the Greek military, seven Turkish aircraft violated the country’s airspace on Tuesday: two F-16 fighter jets, a CN-235 surveillance aircraft and four drones.
Turkey rejects this assessment because it does not recognise Greece’s claim to all airspace within 10 nautical miles of its coast, arguing that Athens’ position contradicts International Civil Aviation Organization rules.
Fourlas said Turkey was “behaving like a pirate in the Eastern Mediterranean,” accusing it of challenging the sovereign rights of EU Member States, violating airspace and territorial waters, interfering with European energy projects and maintaining occupying forces in Cyprus. “So I ask you: are Cyprus and Greece less European? I ask because that is how you are treating us,” he added.
Energy infrastructure emerged as another point of contention. Seabed surveys are planned between Crete and Cyprus for the Great Sea Interconnector cable, a project whose route Turkey considers to pass through its exclusive economic zone. Turkey is also conducting surveys between its territory and Cyprus for a proposed gas pipeline. Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called on Turkey to respect the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.
Mavrides used the issue to question Fitto directly, asking why the EU imposes sanctions on Russia as an invader but not on Turkey, which he described as an invader and occupying power that violates UNCLOS, European law and other international rules.
MEP Michalis Hadjipantela of the European People’s Party (EPP) likewise called for an immediate and clear EU response, warning that the issue concerned the sovereignty of Greece, Cyprus and Europe as a whole. He said Cyprus remained under Turkish occupation and argued that Türkiye was moving further away from European principles and values.
Speaking for the ECR group, MEP Geadis Geadi accused the EU of hypocrisy in its approach to Türkiye and called for concrete measures, including sanctions, arguing that statements of solidarity were insufficient.
Concluding the debate, Fitto reaffirmed the EU’s solidarity with Greece and Cyprus while stressing the need for continued engagement with Türkiye. He said sustainable de-escalation in Greek-Turkish relations and a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue within the UN framework were essential to regional stability and to the future of EU-Türkiye relations.
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