The European Commission fired a direct warning at Turkey on Friday after Cyprus accused Ankara of systematically blockin...

The European Commission fired a direct warning at Turkey on Friday after Cyprus accused Ankara of systematically blocking it from COP31 preparatory meetings. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra made the bloc's position clear following an Environment Council session in Luxembourg, calling the situation "unacceptable." "We have been absolutely clear," Hoekstra said. "We said it when the Turkish trade minister was in Brussels, we conveyed it to the Turkish ambassador at the United Nations, and to our Australian partners. This is unacceptable." He stressed that EU solidarity would not bend on this, regardless of how small or large the exclusion might be. The sharpest line came when Hoekstra reminded Ankara that the EU speaks as a bloc. "There are 27 member states and they must all be treated equally," he said, adding that he had already repeated that position directly to the UN. Cyprus's Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou told her EU counterparts that Turkey has not extended a single invitation to Nicosia for any of the preparatory meetings organized by the Turkish COP31 presidency, including sessions held in New York and Tokyo. The situation is particularly pointed because Cyprus currently holds the rotating EU Council presidency, giving it a central coordination role in preparing the bloc's climate negotiating position. Panayiotou said Turkey's conduct "violates the fundamental principles of equal treatment and inclusion" that underpin the UN system and the UNFCCC process. She called on EU institutions to press Ankara directly if Cyprus is not invited in time, and said any exclusion of a UN and EU member state from a UN conference is flatly unacceptable. Turkey not only skipped inviting Cyprus to the March preparatory session in New York, it also rejected EU requests for bilateral contacts on the sideline. The Commission had already pushed back strongly at that point, and Hoekstra on Friday made clear that position has not softened. #Cyprus #Turkey #COP31