EU leaders agreed on the night from Thursday to Friday to extend sanctions against Turkey over illegal gas drilling in the Mediterranean Sea near Greece and Cyprus. Those two EU member states have been pushing for measures against Ankara for some time.
So far, the EU has imposed criminal measures against only two officials of the Turkish state oil company, such as an entry ban into the EU. The foreign ministers will compile a list of new names of individuals and companies.
The difficult and politically sensitive relationship of the EU with Turkey was discussed at length at the summit in Brussels. Turkey is officially still a candidate country for the EU, a NATO ally and an important partner in managing refugee and migrant flows.
In recent months, Turkey has acted provocatively towards the EU on several occasions. Greece put the army past augustus ready for rising tensions.
EU foreign chief Josep Borrell is asked to prepare a report on the state of political, economic and trade relations between the EU and Turkey, and to suggest options on how to proceed with the country.
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