‘EU has punished Turkey over invasion of Cyprus’ says EP president

The EU has punished Turkey for its behaviour towards Cyprus by freezing several chapters of the accession negotiations, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola was quoted as saying on Sunday.

In an interview with Phileleftheros Metsola was responding to a question as to why Turkey has not been sanctioned in the same way by Europe as Russia was when it invaded Ukraine.

Metsola responded that the EU had unequivocally condemned the Turkish invasion and occupation of a member state and has supported the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone.

Cyprus has repeatedly asked Brussels to impose sanctions on Turkey.

“The EU has punished Turkey for its behaviour towards Cyprus by freezing many chapters of the accession negotiations,” Metsola said.

She added that on several occasions, the European Parliament has urged member states to go further, “but as you know, this is a decision that belongs exclusively to in the Council where unanimity is required,” she added.

The EU has also taken a much more active role in efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue and has participated at a high level in several rounds of negotiations, Metsola said.

“As I said in my first speech as President of the European Parliament, the European Union can never be truly whole as long as Cyprus remains divided,” she added.