Greek MEP Nikolaos Anadiotis (NI) has asked the EU's foreign policy chief to condemn and prevent Member States from participating in Turkey's 'EFES 2026' military exercise, which he says simulates the occupation of Greek and Cypriot islands. In a parliamentary question submitted on 3 June 2026, Anadiotis argues that such participation undermines European solidarity and the Common Security and Defence Policy, as EU armies train together in invasion scenarios against fellow Member States.
first, that the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative publicly state opposition to Member State involvement in exercises that legitimise Turkish aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean; second, that he propose specific measures — including guidelines and an institutional framework — to prevent future participation in military activities by non-EU countries that threaten EU security.
Anadiotis points to Turkey's 'Blue Homeland' doctrine as the strategic backdrop, and notes that several EU Member States attended as observers or contributed military units. The MEP frames the issue as a test of EU coherence: if European armies train together in scenarios targeting EU territory, he argues, the Union's security policy is rendered meaningless.
The question does not name the participating Member States or specify a deadline for a response. Under European Parliament rules, the Commission and the High Representative are expected to reply within approximately six weeks. The answer will signal whether the EU executive views the matter as a bilateral Greek-Turkish issue or as a systemic challenge to EU territorial integrity and defence solidarity.
Greek and Cypriot governments would see a ban as a major diplomatic victory reinforcing EU solidarity; Turkey would view it as a hostile move deepening NATO-internal divisions; participating Member States (likely including Italy, Spain, and others with defence ties to Ankara) would face constraints on bilateral military cooperation; the EU's foreign policy arm would gain a precedent-setting tool to regulate Member State engagement with third-country exercises, strengthening its authority in security matters.