“We have received a formal request from Turkey, also from South Korea,” EU Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said Thursday, confirming that the two non-EU member-states want to include their companies in the Union’s hefty 150-billion-euro defense-related loan package (SAFE).
In a dispatch from Brussels, Euroactiv nevertheless reminds that participation by Turkey and defense contractors in that country, practically all with either state ownership or preferential contracts with the Turkish military, “is likely to face strong opposition from Greece and Cyprus.”
Greek leadership, among others concerns, has recently demanded that Turkey first rescind a 1995 grand assembly (parliament) resolution threatening war in case Athens’ exercises its rights under international maritime law to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles.
Cyprus has even deeper qualms about any Turkish involvement, given that Turkey illegally occupied 37% percent of the island republic’s territory since the summer of 1974.
Conversely, the article states that South Korea, a major weapons systems producer, is expected to easily join the SAFE initiative, in part because it’s a major supplier to now front-line Poland.
“Greek officials have already spoken out against Turkey and its companies joining the scheme. And while defence decisions can be taken by qualified majority, in practice EU capitals usually wait for consensus, making approval for Ankara a long shot…South Korea’s request may be seen more positively, as Seoul has become a major supplier for Europe’s rearmament push in recent years – particularly in Poland.”
The official requests now mean that they’ll come under Commission scrutiny before any a formal recommendation is made to the EU Council, with negotiations then potentially following.
