La reazione dell’Unione europea di fronte alla crisi del Mediterraneo orientale: tra misure restrittive e la proposizione di “un’agenda politica positiva” alla Turchia

This Insight examines the EU’s reaction to the breaches of the territorial sovereignty of Cyprus and Greece by Turkey in the context of the crisis of the Eastern Mediterranean sea which developed between 2019 and 2020. The EU has reacted by adopting restrictive measures against two Turkish nationals responsible for drilling operations authorised by Turkey in the territorial sea and in the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Cyprus. The individual restrictive measures examined in this paper are adopted for the first time against a candidate to the EU membership and a NATO member in order to protect the sovereign rights of one its Members, namely the Republic of Cyprus. The territorial dispute between the latter and Turkey, on the exercise of sovereignty over the marine areas around the island of Cyprus has extended to Greece due to the seismic activities carried out by Turkey vessels in waters included in the Greek continental shelf. Turkey, which is not part of the UNCLOS, has also delimited the continental shelf with Libya and has an interest in ex-ploiting the natural resources on the continental shelf of both Greece and Cyprus. This contribution illustrates the various diplomatic initiatives taken to solve the territorial disputes and reflects on the diplomatic role that the EU may play in order to settle the dispute between the Parties.