Eastern Mediterranean

The European Union announced Tuesday the launch of a new naval mission in the Mediterranean Sea aimed at enforcing the UN arms embargo on Libya, after Italy blocked a previous operation claiming that the warships attracted migrants to Europe's shores.

The Turkish Cypriot government has taken additional measures to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus on the island.

As part of those actions, the government has declared a curfew between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting March 31.

The curfew will be effective until April 5.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, Greece accused Turkey of undermining stability in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey's Treasury borrowed 4.2 billion Turkish liras (some $650 million) from domestic markets on March 24.

Some 3.6 billion Turkish liras (around $560 million) of three-year Turkish lira overnight reference rate (TLREF)-indexed bonds - new issuance - to be settled on March 25 and mature on June 21, 2023, were sold in an auction, the Treasury and Finance Ministry said on March 24.

The European Union, anxious to avoid any repeat of the 2015-16 migration chaos, is scrambling to react after Turkey said it would no longer abide by a 2016 deal under which it has been preventing refugees and migrants from heading for Europe.

Here are the bloc's options as the latest escalation of the war in Syria revives migration worries in Europe.

Turkey's Defense Ministry on March 20 ruled out rumours about the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

The ministry said in a written statement that the planned deployment and distribution of troops in Idlib continue.

A ski center in Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari has become a hot attraction for thousands of people across the country.

Thanks to the investment support from the Eastern Anatolia Development Agency (DAKA), the Hakkari Ski Center has become one of the major ski resorts in the region.

Hundreds of citizens have asked to be repatriated to the Republic of Cyprus, prompting the government to seek options to beat a universal ban on all flights that goes into effect on Saturday.

Bucking the worldwide trend of falling exports in recent months, Turkey has hit new export records, one after another, the head of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly said on March 10.

"Closing the first two months of 2020 with new records on a monthly basis was a source of pride for us," İsmail Gülle said at a kitchen and bathroom expo in the commercial capital Istanbul.

Without Turkey, Europe just doesn't look right and in the long run it probably won't work.
The idea of Turkey as an active player in the life of Europe is a relatively new one for people in Europe. Because Turkey industrialized much later than most of the countries on the north side of the Mediterranean, it was for many years just a bystander.