shaped Turkey-EU relations . As this analysis has demonstrated , these problems have been included in the progress reports on Turkey and as long as Turkey has not fulfilled the conditions attached to these issues , it cannot -implement the EU acquis .
Developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey-EU Relations
The hydrocarbon discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean in the past decade indicate new geopolitical dynamics in the region , especially determining the course of Turkish-EU relations in the framework of the Cyprus conflict . With the increasing energy and security cooperation between several East Mediterranean states – including Greece , Cyprus , Egypt , and Israel – and the gradual isolation of Turkey from regional projects , the tension in the region has intensified considerably . Energy and security is just one side of the problem in the East Mediterranean . Historically complicated Turkish-Greek relations , especially the Cyprus conflict , contribute to the tense situation as well . Overall , some trends are visible regarding the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean – the growing cooperation and energy forums which leave Turkey out , Turkey ’ s reactive and aggressive responses to the regional developments , and the EU ’ s milder rhetoric after the recent escalation of tensions between Turkey and Greece in 2020 .
Since 2013 a new point was added to the progress reports on Turkey regarding Cyprus ’ s rights to exploit hydrocarbon resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone ( EEZ ) 43 . As the Republic of Cyprus is the only recognized sovereign state on the island , it has rights to the resources of the island . However , Turkey claims that Turkish Cypriots also have rights to those resources and the profits from exploitation should be shared between the two communities 44 . As a result , starting from 2014 when Italian Energy Company ENI began drilling in the waters southeast of Cyprus , Turkey sent a research vessel and navy ships there 45 . The escalation of tension between Turkey , Greece and Cyprus over the drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean became the new dimension of the Cyprus conflict . Just to clarify that the tensions because of energy resources have not just appeared recently , it is vital to mention that at the end of the 1980s Turkey and Greece had a similar conflict , as well . The first drilling in an area which included disputed waters between Turkey and Greece was carried out by a Canadian-controlled oil
43
Turkey Progress Report , 2013
44
Stergiou A ., Turkey – Cyprus – Israel relations and the Cyprus conflict . Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies , 18 ( 4 ), ( 2016 ), 375 – 392 https :// doi . org / 10.1080 / 194489- 53.2016.1195994
45 ibid ., p . 377
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