They set up the legal framework for travel bans and asset freezes, but left the names until a later date. The decision, reflecting a broader deterioration of EU ties with Turkey, aims to punish Ankara for violating Cyprus's maritime economic zone. Earlier the EU halted arms sales to Turkey because of its October incursion into Syria.

Turkey, who is a formal candidate to join the EU, says it is operating in waters on its own continental shelf or in areas where Turkish Cypriots have rights.