EU lawmakers reject Turkey's 'safe zone' in Syria, eye sanctions steps

European Union lawmakers on Wednesday condemned Turkey’s offensive to carve out a “safe zone” in northeast Syria and prepared the way for new EU financial sanctions against Ankara, Reuters reported.

EU governments have protested to Ankara over its incursion but are split over how to respond to it. EU lawmakers have no direct say on the bloc’s foreign policy decisions but have the power to curb important EU funding to Turkey.

Ankara seeks a “safe zone” along 440 km (275 miles) of border with northeast Syria. It agreed on Tuesday with Russia on steps to remove Kurdish YPG forces 30 km from the border and jointly patrol 10 km of the area, a pact that a senior European diplomat called a “major blow to NATO” coming after a U.S. pull-out that upset the region’s military alliance.

“We demand that Turkey immediately withdraw from Syria,” German center-right lawmaker Michael Gahler said, speaking on behalf of the largest political grouping in the EU assembly.

A draft resolution that EU legislators will adopt on Thursday and has the backing of all political groups in the assembly urges “appropriate and targeted economic measures against Turkey”.

The text, which is still subject to minor changes, calls for the freezing of preferential treatment for Turkish agriculture exports to the EU.

As a last-resort sanction, it also urges the suspension of the EU customs union with Ankara, a measure that would hit the 200-billion-euro ($222.3 billion) annual trade between the 28 EU nations and Turkey.