Recognition of threats against EU member states and European solidarity cannot be selective, PASOK MP Michalis Katrinis said in three interventions at the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in Dublin, calling for sanctions over the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum and specific European measures to ensure the secure implementation of the Greece–Cyprus electricity interconnection.
On the CSDP, he stressed that credible common defence depends on recognising threats to all member states and taking collective responsibility for addressing them. He noted that the president of the European Commission had pledged in her State of the Union address to defend the entire European territory, without mentioning Turkey’s threats against Greece and Cyprus. He asked whether there could be a common European defence if threats were recognised selectively and solidarity between member states was also selective.
On the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum, Michalis Katrinis stressed that violations of international law and the Law of the Sea fuel geopolitical tensions. He recalled that all member states and the EU leadership had condemned it as invalid and without legal effect. He also referred to his complaint to the UN and the official responses from many countries.
He called on the European Union to go beyond verbal condemnation and impose economic sanctions on those who believe they can act unilaterally, pursuing revisionist policies and making historically unfounded claims. Otherwise, he warned, geopolitical tensions and the erosion of international law would continue, while the Union would lose its geopolitical role and international standing.
On the Greece–Cyprus electricity interconnection, he noted that its recognition as a project of common interest entails European responsibility for ensuring its secure implementation. He stressed that protecting critical infrastructure begins at the survey and construction stages.
He pointed out that the European Commission itself has documented Turkey’s obstruction of survey work. Through these actions, he said, Turkey is in practice challenging the Union’s ability to implement its own strategic decisions in the energy sector.
“Can a third country obstruct the construction of a project of common European interest without facing sanctions?” he asked, calling for specific European measures to ensure the interconnection can proceed safely, without depending on Turkey’s consent.