European Commission urged by Greek MEP Farandouris to curb Turkey's fisheries drive in Eastern Mediterranean

Greek MEP Nikos Farandouris (PASOK) submitted a written question to the European Commission urging it to intervene over Turkey’s use of fisheries and marine‑environment protection as a geopolitical tool in the Eastern Mediterranean, a strategy he describes as the “Blue Homeland” doctrine.

He warns that Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture is ready to implement a new action plan aligned with FAO standards, which he says is directly linked to Ankara’s claims on the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, threatening the rights of EU member states, especially Greece and Cyprus. Farandouris calls on the Commission to connect this instrumentalisation of environmental monitoring with illegal fishing, and to adopt concrete measures to safeguard the EU’s strategic interests in the region.

He stated, “Ankara uses fisheries and marine environmental protection to promote unilateral claims in sea areas where EU members have rights, particularly Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.”