Endurance test for EU-Turkey relations and Ankara with Greece and Cyprus

A tough test for European-Turkish relations but also for Turkey’s relations with Cyprus and Greece, an engagement today five years after the Turkish Foreign Minister took office. H. Vidan During the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Turkey’s exclusion from high-level meetings was a result of Council decisions, and in 2019 due to the aggressive policy towards Cyprus, Fidan was invited after Nicosia gave the green light.

There was pressure from the Hungarian Presidency (pro-Turkey) and from Brussels, and Nicosia pursued this move, wanting to show “good faith” in light of the trilateral meeting in New York, in an attempt to resume talks on the Cyprus issue and after ensuring that “Borrell document» To European-Turkish relations It will not be controlled by the Commission but by the Council (and Coreper) where Cyprus has veto power. Also, the recent summit “guaranteed” the interdependence between Cypriot and EU-Turkish relations.

Fidan wants to take advantage of the situation in which Turkey is emerging as a decisive factor in the Ukrainian Caucasus, in North Africa, but also in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean, in order to strengthen Turkey’s important role as a regional power. Secure exchanges with the EU and of course strengthening the relationship that will confirm the dominant and regional role of Turkey, which speaks and negotiates with the EU as an equal partner from a position of strength, and not as a candidate country for membership.

Visa-free travel for Turkish citizens is a constant demand of Turkey, while the Customs Union review process is also of crucial importance, which of course makes the Cyprus issue an insurmountable obstacle, since Turkey has not implemented the basic commitment it made. We committed ourselves in 2005 to extend the Customs Union Protocol to all Member States and thus also to Cyprus…

Türkiye seeks to ‘sell’ the EU Geopolitical role In major crises on the EU’s eastern borders, although its positions are often far from the basic choices of the common foreign policy as well as the approaches of the member states. Turkey also carries a strong migration card, and with the prevailing climate in European societies, repeated uncontrolled flows to Europe will cause not only social but also political problems for European governments.

It would be particularly interesting to have Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan and his Cypriot counterpart, K. Kubu, meet at the same table, given that Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus. For Nicosia, this would be a good opportunity to highlight Turkey’s absolute negative attitude towards the resumption of talks on the Cyprus issue, while at the same time reminding that Mr. Fidan’s invitation does not mean changing the entire context of the summit decisions on the Cyprus issue. Turkey’s aggressive policy Against the Republic of Cyprus.

As for Greece, Fidan’s participation in the foreign ministers’ dinner is of particular importance, while there will also be a private meeting between G. Gerapetritis and his Turkish counterpart in preparation for the Erdogan-Missotakis meeting in New York on the third ten days of September in New York.

Despite the cessation of violations of Greek airspace and overflights of Greek islands and the rapprochement process between Greece and Turkey, extreme caution is required during the EU-Turkey discussion at the Foreign Ministers’ lunch, so as not to give the impression that everything is fine. “Things are going well” in Greek-Turkish. Because such an impression would undermine the support of partners and weaken the strong framework that was formed in previous years with summit decisions and Commission reports highlighting Turkey’s commitment to abandoning its policy. Cause of warQuestioning Greek sovereignty, defining maritime zones on the basis of the Law of the Sea, abandoning the policy of threats and the threat of using force…

It is clear, without diminishing the lack of tension in the Aegean, that in recent months one cannot ignore the fact that Turkish threats are recurring, and that on the occasion of the alleged demilitarization of the islands and the declaration of marine parks, Turkey has expanded the “grey zone”, while it is still trying to block a major energy project that has the full support of the European Union, the electricity interconnection between Cyprus and Crete, once again pointing out its claims at the expense of Greek sovereign rights.

It is clear that other European ministers will have to raise a series of issues in Turkey regarding either extreme political discourse against Israel that borders on anti-Semitism, attacks against Kurds, or the rule of law, human rights and minorities in Turkey.

But for the Greek Foreign Minister, it is his highest duty to raise issues related to Turkish revisionism, which has not been abandoned, but only some of its practical attacks have been suspended. Of course, any inhibitions that if any “facts” about Turkey are heard before the European Foreign Ministers, Ankara might feel uncomfortable before the September meeting must be removed, and therefore the positions must be “brought closer”.

Regarding the personal meeting Gravititis – VidanIt is of course not known whether the two ministers will try to lay the first foundation so that the two leaders at the September summit can give the signal to start exploratory contacts within the framework of the political dialogue to demarcate the borders. Exclusive economic zone Between the two countries. The Greek side stated that this dialogue will begin when the conditions are ripe without clarifying what exactly that means, as the distance separating the two sides in terms of positions is essential and there have been no signs of a change in the Turkish position.

After the most serious problems that emerged in the case of the electricity connection between Crete and Cyprus, the issue that could lead to a serious crisis may be left out of the analytical discussion, as if the investigations into the laying of a cable in Cyprus and the Carpathian Sea were extended outside the Greek territorial waters in the area of ​​the Greek EEZ that overlaps with Turkish-Libyan memorandum The illegal and arbitrary Turkish continental shelf will face the Turkish “veto” and the “wall” of Turkish warships.

Because the “trick” of the simultaneous announcement of the coordinates of the investigations outside the competent Greek authorities and the Turkish authorities of the Navtex version (which was published a month ago) would create a serious negative impact on the country and have a serious impact on the internal political arena as well.

Fidan’s invitation to the informal EU Foreign Affairs Council should be an opportunity to remind Turkey that there is no “blank check” in EU-Turkey relations and that Ankara should not use it to weaken Turkey’s commitments to Greece, Cyprus and the EU itself on the altar of Turkey’s alleged “strategic importance” for Europe and the economic interests of some member states.