BRUSSELS – Greece will get €2.73 billion from the European Union’s temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) program, the European Commission announced on Monday.

 

Just when it seemed that Greece and Turkey were entering a phase of de-escalation, the two countries appeared on Monday to be heading for another crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is planning to discuss the natural gas dispute in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in Athens and Ankara on Tuesday, a ministry spokesman said on Monday.

Germany’s mediatory effort between Athens and Ankara will continue this Tuesday with visits to Athens and Ankara by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas for contacts with his counterparts, in an effort to start anew the discussions between the two sides.

Amid a new diplomatic effort, led by Berlin, to diffuse tension between Greece and Turkey, Athens has made it clear that the prospect of Ankara announcing exploratory activities in areas south or east of Crete that are designated in the Turkey-Libya memorandum is a red line that it will not allow to be crossed.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel  stressed that threats against the sovereignty of European Union member states are not acceptable during a meeting at Fort de Bregancon, in the south-east of France on Thursday. 

France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that Europe must protect its members’ sovereignty in the Eastern Mediterranean when it is cast into doubt.

The escalating maritime dispute between Turkey and Greece involving the delimitation of their continental shelves can no longer be viewed as a bilateral issue.

The European Commission and German biotech firm CureVac said on Thursday they were in advanced talks for the supply of at least 225 million doses of a potential Covid-19 vaccine to EU states.

The leaders of the European Union expressed their solidarity with Greece and Cyprus during an extraordinary summit on Wednesday, at the same time stressing the need to resolve their differences with Turkey through dialogue.

Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron meet on Thursday in a medieval island fortress in the Mediterranean to chart the next steps for a partnership that is the driving force behind the European Union.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called for the de-escalation of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, describing the situation as “very dangerous.”

The situation in the Eastern Mediterranean was discussed during a European Council teleconference on Belarus on Wednesday, with Council President Charles Michel expressing the EU's support to Greece and Cyprus, in light of Turkey's activities in the region.

The European Union said it did not recognize the results of Belarus elections and would shortly impose sanctions on those who were involved in electoral fraud and repression of protests, the European Council chief said on Wednesday.

European Union leaders will hold a video call on developments in Belarus at 1000 GMT on Wednesday, said their chairman, European Council President Charles Michel.

During an EU teleconference of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on Friday, Greece and Germany disagreed on the content of the statement officials had planned to issue after the talks, according to diplomatic sources.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told Friday's emergency meeting of the European Union Council of Foreign Affairs that Turkey is the only one to blame for the escalation of tension in the Eastern Mediterranean and must leave the Greek continental shelf immediately.

European Union foreign ministers were holding urgent talks Friday on military tensions between Greece and Turkey as the neighboring countries’ navies continued a game of brinkmanship over eastern Mediterranean drilling rights.

European Union foreign ministers prepared Friday for urgent talks on military tensions between Greece and Turkey as the neighboring countries’ navies continued a game of brinkmanship over eastern Mediterranean drilling rights.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is expected to present photographic material and videos from Thursday’s collision between the Greek frigate Limnos and the Turkish vessel Kemal Reis in the Eastern Mediterranean at Friday’s extraordinary EU Foreign Affairs Council.