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Why is Turkey's presence in EU matchless?
March 12, 2021Turkey and the European Union seek a positive agenda.
Turkey and the European Union seek a positive agenda. It would serve the interests of both parties if the European Council’s meeting on March 25-26 transforms that pursuit into a concrete policy. After all, it is high time that the Turkey-EU relationship undergoes a strategic assessment.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a productive conversation with his French counterpart President Emmanuel Macron. He also held a productive videoconference call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week.
Germany’s leader has traditionally appreciated Ankara’s crucial role in European migration and security policy and adopted a constructive approach.
Macron’s softened stance, however, is quite interesting. Having disagreed with the Turks on Syria, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean and Nagorno-Karabakh, Paris now seems pleased to find an opportunity to exchange views on the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece and Cyprus.
The start of a transition process in Libya, under Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, too, de-escalated tensions between the two countries. The French government, which supported Athens by selling military aircraft and weapons to the Greeks, witnesses the limits of that solidarity. It, therefore, takes advantage of the de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean to realign its interests with Turkey.
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