If Turkey passes the legislation then 'the EU will have no alternative but to impose sanctions' and provide Greece with military support, said Greek MEP Nikolas Farantouris
Turkey is preparing to turn its “Blue Homeland” strategy into law formalising as state policy a grab for greater control over the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean seas that rings alarm bells in Athens and Brussels.
The Blue Homeland is a Turkish revisionist doctrine that questions the existing borders in the southeastern Mediterranean. If the bill is passed, Ankara would formally challenge the sovereignty of more than 150 islands in the Aegean.
Ankara argues that maritime boundaries in the Aegean sea should be drawn roughly along a median line between the Greek mainland and the Turkish coast. Its main contention is that Greek islands close to the Turkish mainland should not automatically generate full Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), areas setting rights to maritime resources.
The dispute comes amid reported gas and oil reserves in the region that have also attracted US interest, while looming elections in both Greece and Turkey are fuelling domestic political pressure on both governments.
