A European Commissioner has revealed the fact that the European Union has purchased equipment for the Turkish armed forces that are now being used to make provocative moves against its neighbor, Greece.
The Turkish armed forces have a long history of intimidating Greece. Tensions have mounted this year as Turkey unleashed a new wave of illegal migrants on Greece, its fighter jets harassed a helicopter that was carrying Greece’s top two military commanders, and its personnel have fired weapons across the border into Greek territory, as previously reported by Voice of Europe.
Another way Turkey provokes its Greek neighbor is by sending vessels into Greek territorial waters in the Aegean Sea. Turkey has made no secret of the fact that it hopes to one day seize Greece’s islands in the Aegean so that it can take over the vast oil and natural gas deposits there.
The EU has always refused to do anything to respond to Turkey’s aggression. And now Olivér Várhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, has confirmed that the bloc purchased four vessels for the Turkish Coast Guard as part of the EU and Turkey’s Joint Declaration on the Refugee Crisis. The vessel purchases were made last year as part of an EU initiative to “ensure proper border management with the aim of securing and protecting refugees, the local population, and finally, Turks and European citizens,” according to a report by Proto Thema.
Várhelyi’s statement was in response to a question that had been put to him about the program by Nikos Androulakis, an MEP from Greece. Androulakis posed the question after Turkish Coast Guard vessels had entered Greek waters without authorisation in March.
In addition to the vessels, Várhelyi confirmed that the EU has also paid for the purchases of armoured vehicles and surveillance equipment for Turkey to be used as part of border security efforts. He told Androulakis that “the Commission will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that all the commitments are being followed.”
He further indicated that the Commission would continue to honor the agreement despite Turkey’s moves against Greece in recent months.
“While it is unacceptable for [Turkish President] Erdoğan to use refugees and migrants as a means to blackmail Europe, the Commission continues to fund purchases for the Turkish Armed Forces and security forces,” Androulakis said in a statement. “Especially after the events in Evros, where the entire European leadership visited the Greek border and saw the magnitude of the threat to European security from Turkey’s actions, the Hungarian Commissioner cannot be indifferent and continue such programs normally. Turkey must stop receiving money from the Pre-Accession Assistance Fund, especially for projects related to the purchase of equipment for the Turkish security forces. Immediate explanations are needed from the European Commission regarding this policy.”
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