MEP Nikolas Farantouris (S&D) has challenged the European Commission over its recent high-level visit to Türkiye, questioning whether the EU is sacrificing the sovereign rights of member states Greece and Cyprus in pursuit of a strategic partnership. In a written parliamentary question dated 3 July 2026, Farantouris presses the Vice-President/High Representative on whether she raised specific disputes—such as the casus belli against Greece, challenges to maritime zones, the Kasos incident, and Türkiye's revisionist policies—during the 30 June meeting in Ankara with the Turkish Foreign Minister. The visit, which also included the Commissioners for Enlargement and Migration, resulted in a joint press release stressing the 'strategic value' of EU-Türkiye relations but omitted any reference to Türkiye's actions undermining member states' interests, including the planned 'Blue Homeland' law, obstruction of a Greece-Cyprus power grid project, and exclusion of Cyprus from COP31 meetings. Farantouris asks three concrete questions: whether the issues were raised; how a strategic partnership squares with persistent sovereignty challenges; and whether EU foreign policy can be decoupled from respect for member states' sovereign rights. The question implicitly calls for the EU to attach conditions to further deepening ties, demanding full respect for international law and good neighbourliness. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks, and its answer will signal whether it prioritises strategic dialogue or insists on concrete behavioural changes from Ankara.
The query highlights a cleavage between EU integration and national sovereignty, with potential impacts on EU foreign policy credibility, Greek and Cypriot security interests, EU-Türkiye economic cooperation, and the broader EU enlargement process.