Turkey’s European prospects were back on the table during talks between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during yesterday’s first visit by the German leader to Ankara. The German Chancellor made it clear to Erdogan that issues of justice and rule of law, as outlined in the Copenhagen Criteria, constitute fundamental conditions for prospective EU member states, apparently causing discomfort for the Turkish president.
It should be noted that Turkey submitted its candidacy application in 1987 for EU membership. In 1999, it was granted candidate country status, with accession negotiations beginning in October 2005. However, they were suspended in 2018 due to regression in matters of democracy, rule of law, and fundamental rights.
Merz: “Window open” for Turkey’s EU membership, “yes” to Eurofighter – What Alexandros Despotopoulos tells parapolitika.gr
Professor of International Law Alexandros Despotopoulos, speaking to parapolitika.gr, argues that in the foreseeable future no one is seriously discussing Turkey’s potential EU membership. “Turkey will very likely pressure for some kind of accommodation from the Union. For example, liberalizing tourist visas for Turkish nationals, something the Turks are desperately seeking. That is, to start some kind of conversation about upgrading the Euro-Turkish union. However, I don’t believe there’s anyone in Europe right now who seriously discusses, especially the Germans, Turkey becoming a full member of the European Union” he emphasizes.
Nevertheless, the German Chancellor left a window open to Turkey’s European prospects as he advocated for a strategic Turkey-EU dialogue. “Personally, and on behalf of the German government, I see Turkey as a close partner of the European Union. We want to continue facilitating the path to Europe” he stated characteristically. However, in his first official visit to Turkey, Friedrich Merz strengthened bilateral defense relations between Germany and Turkey, which were sealed with the purchase of 20 Eurofighters, with Tayyip Erdogan considering the Eurofighter sale as “steps by Germany in defense cooperation” and Friedrich Merz characterizing it as “strengthening NATO security“.
In Greece, the development of defense relations between the EU’s most powerful countries and Turkey appears to be causing concern. As Professor of International Law Alexandros Despotopoulos argues to parapolitika.gr “there are some countries, like Italy, Spain, mainly Britain, and secondarily Germany, which have strong bilateral relations with Turkey. They also have cooperation in several sectors, especially in the defense sector. To these countries I would add Spain, which is more silent but cooperates with Turkey, and these form an axis that should concern us in the future. They show great tolerance for Turkish revisionism and treat Turkey’s aggressiveness somewhat as a problem of Greece and Cyprus and not as a European problem. Of course, Greece has managed to a large extent to maintain balances within the broader geopolitical framework because it has also built its own axis. In cooperation with France, with the Americans, and in a local geopolitical complex with Israel, we have created very serious counterbalances to this relationship, and naturally Greece exploits the benefits from its EU membership. A characteristic example is blocking Turkey’s participation in SAFE“.
Leaving Turkey, the German Chancellor will have gained a good deal from the fighter aircraft sale, but also recorded a series of disagreements on justice and rule of law issues, as well as clashes with the Turkish president over support provided to Israel. As became apparent from the two leaders’ statements, Ankara did not extract any commitment regarding its participation in the European defense program SAFE. As for the Eurofighter sale, Mr. Despotopoulos’ assessment to parapolitika.gr is telling “the basic cooperation at this moment with these countries has focused on the Eurofighter. The Eurofighter doesn’t give Turkey any comparative advantage against us. And most importantly, the Eurofighters are a program in decline. It’s no coincidence that the Italians who participate in Eurofighters no longer prefer them. That is, they too have entered the F-35 logic“.
