The Greek government's failure to register the term “Turkaegean” in Turkey several months ago has caused angry and justified reactions.
Despite the negative response it received from the US, Ankara managed to register the term in the EU in the form of a trademark for its tourism campaign, many months ago, as the timeline of the decision indicates.
The EU's intellectual property rights committee has reportedly approved Turkey's request for a name that can be used from December 2021 until July 2031.
Turkey has filed two separate applications for registration of this trademark, one in the European Union and one in the United States. The request to the European Union accepted on 15 December 2021, based on the decision of the Intellectual Property Rights Commission.
It seems, therefore, that the Greek side was “caught napping”, since at that time it did nothing. without lodging an objectionto overturn the registration of a term (“Turkish-Aegean” in Greek) which, although it may be aimed at attracting tourists from Turkey, is an “extreme challenge to Greek sovereignty in the Aegean”, as George Katrougalos stressed on Tuesday.
The Turkish campaign:
No statement from the Foreign Ministry - “No objection could be made at the time”
So far, there is no official -at least- reaction or even a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to make known what and how immediate Greece's response to the “Turkagean” fiasco will be.
It is also not known why the Greek side did not object last year, in 2021, when the term was registered.
On Tuesday, the government spokesman Yannis Oikonomou, in a television interview on SKAI, noted that “the way in which the entry was made did not allow any objection to be raised at that time”, clarifying that “βof course, and there will be an appeal. How and why it was done is being investigated and obviously there will be an appeal very quickly. It does not generate any political issues but it is undoubtedly an unfair commercial practice which will be raised. There will be an objection from the Greek side and it will be redressed.”.
For his part, the Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, noted: “I had pointed out from the beginning that the propaganda campaign of “Turkaegean” has arisen from a lack of imagination of their creative and is part of the unrealistic claims of the Turkish side with the escalating aggression, through the instrumentalization and tourism. On this issue, I was even attacked by anonymous Turkish internet users with insults and abusive language. Greece is taking all necessary initiatives and is taking legal action to cancel this unacceptable campaign.”.
Angry reaction of SYRIZA - Six questions about the government's negligence
On the part of the Official Opposition, there was a massive reaction to the government's negligence which “costs the country dearly and harms its interests”.
On the initiative of Alexis Haritsis, Minister of Development and Investments of the SYRIZA-PS party, Alexis Haritsis, in cooperation with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, George Katrougalos and Tourism, Katerina Notopoulou, 54 MPs of SYRIZA - PC tabled a question for the approval by the relevant EU committee of the possibility for Turkey to use the word “Turkaegean” as a trademark.
As the SYRIZA-PS MPs note, according to a decision published in the European Union Trademark Office (EUTM), the EU Intellectual Property Rights Committee (EUIPO) has approved the possibility for Turkey to use the word “Turkaegean” (Turkish Aegean) as a trademark. Turkey is also using this trademark in an advertising campaign that has been released for tourism purposes. The approval was granted on 15 December 2021 without any objection and is valid until 16 July 2031. In fact, the Greek government, although it has the right to do so, has not yet lodged an objection.
This development harms the country's international reputation and undermines the prospects of Greek tourism and the overall course of the Greek economy in an extremely difficult situation. At the same time, given the current situation in Greek-Turkish relations, this development complicates relations between the two countries and geopolitically degrades Greece.
Because Turkey has recently chosen a policy of escalation with multiple statements by Turkish officials against the sovereign rights of our country
Because the issue is very serious and affects the commercial rights of our country
The relevant Ministers are asked:
1. If and when were the Minister of Development & Investment and the Industrial Property Agency as the competent body informed about the filing of the application for registration of the trademark in question?;
2. What actions have been taken to inform the businesses concerned? Were the chambers of commerce based on the Aegean islands and SETE informed?;
3. Has there been any intervention by the OBI before the EUIPO?;
4. What actions have been taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in particular the Deputy Minister responsible for Economic Diplomacy?;
5. Has the Government organised any procedure for objections or other legal remedies?;
6. Is any reaction planned on the part of the State?”
Kotzias: “Despicable decision - Make the minutes public”
The reaction of former Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias was immediate, who wrote in a post on Wednesday morning: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately make public a) official correspondence and instructions regarding “Turkaegean”, b) the minutes of the committee that took the despicable decision, c) the “diary” of its own deterrent actions, if any”, to add that: “The opposition must demand the documents.”.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs must immediately make public a) official correspondence and instructions regarding “Turkaegean”, b) the minutes of the committee that took the despicable decision, c) the “diary” of its own deterrent actions, if it did
The opposition must demand the documents- Nikos Kotzias (@NikosKotzias) June 29, 2022
«Athens is confused»
The delayed reaction of Greece, however, was also a matter of concern for some of the Turkish press, with some neighbouring media referring to the event, writing that “Athens is confused”.
Yenisafak's article is typical, writing that Turkey's move has confused Greece, causing «an earthquake in the Greek political scene».
He adds: «Many people across the country, from academics to politicians, reacted to the EU's decision and made statements targeting the government. George Katrougalos from the opposition slammed the Mitsotakis government, noting that the decision was unacceptable. Greek government spokesman Yannis Economou, for his part, said Turkey would not create a brand to which it has exclusive rights and announced that Greece would oppose the decision.».
