The eastern mediterranean hydrocarbons: A new dynamic in the eu and Turkey relations

Abstract

The geopolitics of the eastern Mediterranean is passing through a tense period. The hydrocarbon discoveries within the Eastern Mediterranean have altered the regional relations. On the one hand, the hydrocarbons have had a converging effect on Republic of Cyprus (RoC), Israel, Egypt and Greece, on the other it has alienated Turkey. Turkey and RoC are having clashing claims of maritime sovereignty on the same area. On the west of Cyprus, Turkey put in a claim that its “continental shelf” clashes with the self-declared exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of RoC and on the northern and southeast coast of Cyprus, Turkey claims to be representing the claims and protecting the rights of the Turkish Cypriots, the legal partners of RoC. As a matter of fact, there is already a complicated contestation in the region between Turkey and RoC over the de facto partition of the island in 1974 by intervention of Turkey. Turkey's long-standing European Union (EU) candidacy has been challenged by many traditional factors so far. Cyprus problem, tense relations with Greece, democratic and human rights deficits have long been the major dynamics shaping the EU-Turkey relations and Turkey's accession to the EU. The initial debate right after the discovery of the eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbons and particularly around Cyprus, as of 2011, was whether the hydrocarbons would be a “blessing or a curse” for the Cyprus Conflict. Today, the curse of the hydrocarbons is expanding beyond the Cyprus Problem and generating a two-layered spoiling effect on the EU-Turkey relations: Spoiling the peace process in Cyprus, and secondly leading to a new dynamic for EU-Turkey confrontation, over the EU-member RoC. © Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften berlin 2020. All rights reserved.