91997E3533

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3533/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Council (14 November 1997)

Subject: Turkish aggressiveness towards Greece

On 16 October 1997 the continuous acts of provocation by Turkey towards Greece, an EU Member State, reached a hitherto unprecedented level when a C-130 aircraft transporting the Greek Minister of Defence and his entourage from Cyprus to Crete was intercepted by Turkish warplanes in Greek airspace.

This action constitutes a threat to peace in the south-east Mediterranean, infringes all EU rules and shows total disregard for the Madrid Agreement (now a dead letter in any case) and for Council and Commission admonitions regarding peaceful co-existence between the two countries. In addition, it constitutes a violation of all international treaties.

Furthermore, Turkey displayed total disregard for the lives and safety of the passengers on board the aircraft.

What measures will the Council take with regard to Turkey, a country associated with the EU, in view of its repeated provocations?

Will the President-in-Office raise this matter for discussion in the Council of Foreign Ministers or at the summit meeting in December?

Answer (17 March 1998)

Turkey features regularly on the Council's agenda. The Council attaches great importance to the promotion of relations between Greece and Turkey and the settlement of issues between them in accordance with international law, including means such as the International Court of Justice, as well as to the promotion of good-neighbourly relations and rejection of the threat or use of force in accordance with the United Nations Charter. The Council emphasizes the importance of refraining from any unilateral action which might run counter to that spirit.

The Council welcomes the decision taken by Mr Simitis and Mr Yilmaz in the margins of the Balkan Summit in Crete in early November 1997 to resume the process of normalizing relations between their countries. It hopes that the informal agreement in principle concluded in Madrid will be applied to that end. In the same spirit, the Council will do all it can to facilitate relations. In particular, the Presidency will cooperate with the experts from the Eminent Persons Working Party in their task of preparing procedural suggestions to solve the problems in the Aegean.

The Luxembourg European Council confirmed that the strengthening of the Union's relations with Turkey depended, among other factors, on the establishment of satisfactory and stable relations between Greece and Turkey.

Following the conclusions of the Luxembourg European Council, the Council is now working on the European Union's strategy vis-à-vis Turkey.