EU to cut "aid" to Erdogan over natural gas drilling?

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Inveterate troublemaker and wannabe Supreme Religious Dictator of the New Ottoman Empire (Erdogan, in case you haven't been paying attention) may possibly get financially slapped by EU over Erdogan's crazy claims of hydrocarbons and military shenanigans.

That is, if the spineless EU leadership (oh hai Macron) can actually stand up to confront this maniac.

Erdogan's lust for unbridled power + unbridled religious conquest + grossly overstated claims over hydrocarbons (for revenue to finance the New Ottoman Empire) is a disaster waiting to happen.

Kinda like a Mediterranean version of Iran and Saudi Arabia.  This won't end well.

Will the EU actually grow a spine and confront Erdogan, or will vacuous hot air political posturing remain the norm?  🤔🤔🤔

Stay tuned to the Turkey Gas Soap Opera, "As The Erdogan Empire Turns"

 

Leaked EU Letter Sparks Row Over Turkey Aid Cuts Linked To Gas Drilling Off Cyprus

The European Union is eyeing long promised punitive measures against Turkey for its illegal military incursion into northern Syria, as well as its unauthorized natural gas drilling off Cyprus' coast. 

Germany's Deutsche Welle reported on Saturday the EU has moved to cut pre-accession aid to Turkey by 75%, citing a letter sent to the European Parliament by the EU foreign affairs commissioner. The Instrument for 'Pre-Accession Assistance' (IPA) is offered in support of reforms in countries in the process of joining the EU, despite previously planned 'fast-tracked' talks for Turkey to join the European bloc stalling significantly after 2016. However, the EU quickly distanced itself the report, which appears to have originated with a leaked draft EU letter: 

An EU spokesman on Sunday denied media reports from the previous day that claimed the bloc had agreed to massive new cuts to pre-accession aid to Turkey.

Germany's Funke Media Group had said it saw a letter from the bloc's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, announcing a 75% cut to the funds Ankara receives as a prospective EU member via the "Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)." — DW  ...

 

... Europe has also of late been concerned over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's growing authoritarianism and control over various branches and institutions of Turkey's government, especially since putting down the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt which resulted in him and his supporters emerging stronger than ever.   ...

 

EU foreign affairs commissioner Borrell's apparently leaked letter indicated the potential slash in funds are directly related to Turkey's Syria operations against the Kurds and incursions into Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone. This follows the European Commission announcing sanctions in November to target "individuals or entities responsible for, or involved in, unauthorized drilling activities of hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean."

Over the past year, Turkish authorities have been brazen in publicizing their territorial claims and actions backing them in the eastern Mediterranean, even as EU leaders have slammed the now nine months-long exploration and drilling expansion in solidarity with Cypriot condemnations. Starting last summer two exploration and drilling ships — the Yavuz and the Fatih — had been deployed a mere 42 miles off the west coast of Cyprus, accompanied also by military vessels and on occasion aircraft.  ...

 

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Heh heh, an update:

Turkish Proxies Deployed to Libya from Syria Throw Down Arms and Flee to Europe

... The problem is that members of pro-Turkish groups that suffered a series of devastating defeats from the Syrian Army and large casualties in Syria’s Al-Bab and Afrin expireince some problems with combat morale. So, some of them prefer to use the deployment in Libya as an opportunity to move in Europe.