Dendias: The Borrell report on Turkey is “positive” but has shortcomings

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said the report by European High Representative Josep Borrell on Turkey was a “positive” step but has shortcomings that he will highlight to the European Council.

“The report is positive in principle as it rightly approaches Turkey as a problem that concerns the whole of Europe and underlines the problems caused by Turkey’s behavior,” Dendias said.

The Greek Foreign Minister however outlined that Turkey’s “casus belli” [Cause for War], plans to reopen parts of Varosha in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, and violations of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) were not included.

Dendias said he will highlight these important missing facts from Borrell’s report to the Foreign Affairs Council.

It is unsurprising that Borrell omitted these major Turkish provocations from his report considering his preferential treatment for Ankara.

Garanti BBVA is Turkey’s second largest private bank and has seven branches in occupied Cyprus and one in Malta.

49.85% of Garanti’s stakes are owned by the Spanish Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, in which Borrell is a shareholder.

During Borrell’s CV presentation to the European Parliament, it was revealed he has about €2.77m assets and shares in Iberdrola and BBVA.

Spanish electric company Iberdrola, in which Borrell is a shareholder in, signed in November an agreement with Turkey’s Vestel to produce electric vehicle devices.

Borrell also maintains Nathalie Tocci as his special adviser despite her clear conflict of interest by being former funded by Turkey through a scholarship.

Tocci said last September that Greece must set aside its “macho politics” regarding its relations with Turkey.

She also retweeted a post by a radical Muslim who supports Turkey’s claims against Greece in the East Mediterranean.

It is unsurprising that Borrell omitted from his report some of the worst examples of Turkish delinquency against European Union member states Greece and Cyprus given these facts which are few among many.

READ MORE: Nathalie Tocci is in the spotlight again, but does Josep Borrell also have a conflict of interest with the EU?