Juncker reiterates support for Cyprus following Turkey’s EEZ violations

European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker reiterated on Wednesday that he was behind Cyprus regarding Turkish violations of the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Speaking at the EU Parliament, Juncker said: “As far as Turkish illegal drilling in the eastern Mediterranean is concerned, I must say again, that in this, and other ways, but mainly in this, I am a Cypriot and will remain in solidarity with Cyprus.”

The Turkish drillship Yavuz is off south-western Cyprus to conduct research in block 7 of Cyprus’ EEZ.

Juncker sent a similar message to Turkey back in May, when Turkey issued a marine advisory it would be conducting drillings with the drillship Fatih in an area west of the island.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.