The European Parliament’s latest annual report on relations with Turkey underscores the ongoing occupation of Cyprus as a major barrier to Turkey’s EU accession. The report criticizes Turkey for persistent democratic deficits and stresses that its aggressive policies in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean threaten regional security.

Nikolas Farantouris, MEP and member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, advocates for a strategic shift in Greek and Cypriot diplomacy to counter Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” doctrine. He emphasizes the need to leverage international organizations and diaspora communities to defend Cyprus’s sovereignty, highlighting that Cyprus’s security is inseparable from that of the European Union.

Farantouris condemned Turkey’s deployment of F-16 fighter jets in occupied Cypriot territory as a provocative act violating international law, and criticized Ankara’s exclusion of Cyprus from the COP31 climate conference preparations. He called for firm European and US responses to Turkey’s revisionist moves, stressing that appeasement policies have failed and that a strong, coordinated diplomatic approach is necessary to uphold peace and international law in the region.