Evaluation Note / Nilgün Arısan Eralp

Although the European Union (EU) and the relations with it seem to be insignificant in a Turkey which has already been in the election atmosphere, they are in the agenda of the opposition (notwithstanding the fact that they are not very vocal about it). One of the reasons for this is the result of several opinion polls which indicate that there is a notable public support for the EU, especially among the youngsters.

As I have iterated in different occasions, Turkey is not a real candidate for the EU anymore, also it is far away from being a strategic partner. It is not regarded as being in the league of democratic countries. As referred to by some EU officials, mainly due to its geographic location and its role in the refugees/irregular migrants Turkey is now being qualified as an “unavoidable” partner. Even though the “balanced policy” that has been pursued by Turkey vis-à-vis Russia after the invasion of Ukraine has been praised by the EU, the allegations against Turkey regarding the circumvention of the sanctions and the perception that Turkey is being manipulated by Putin’s Russia has strengthened the cautious approach towards Turkey.

In such an environment, EU seems to assume that nothing would change in relations with Turkey, a possible change in the administration would not be reflected on foreign policy and accordingly the opposition would not have a different policy than the current administration. This seems to be taking the easy way out.

You may read evaluation note from here.