Turkey at risk of extended sanctions by March, EU source tells Kathimerini

Ankara could be slapped with more European sanctions depending on the findings of an evaluation report on Turkey expected by March, a senior diplomatic official has told Kathimerini on condition of anonymity.

According to the same official, the scope of the sanctions over Turkey’s drilling operations inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) could be extended to include not only individuals but also entities.

During a summit earlier this month, European leaders gave the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell a mandate to present by March a report “on the state of play concerning the EU-Turkey political, economic and trade relations and on instruments and options on how to proceed, including on the extension and the scope” of the sanctions.

The issue is expected to be discussed at Thursday’s meeting of RELEX, an expert group at the Council of the EU composed of diplomats from member countries.