Turkey was not a model of democracy, much more after the failed 2016 coup. However, it also kept some pretexts. The opposition was working. This is up to the prosecution of the main political opponent of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ekrem Imamoglu, a prosecution that marks a clear shift by the Turkish president to authoritarianism. This move, unfortunately, is not isolated, but reflects the broader geopolitical momentum that favors the authoritarian regimes in the world, including Europe.
Gönül Tol, author of the book “The War of Erdogan: the struggle of a strong man inside and in Syria”, estimates that the Turkish leader probably felt encouraged by the evolving geopolitical shift to authoritarianism and thus considered it to be a favorable moment.
The next day seems blurry at a time when Cyprus is investing in the development of Euro -Turkish relations as carrot for progress steps in the Cyprus issue. At the same time, on the front of Greek -Turkish relations, the strategy of calm waters in the Aegean is in any other way in testing due to the harassment of the Ankara of research to the cable of the Greece -Cyprus electric interconnection cable.
Turkey remains even a formal candidate country for accession to the European Union, and the EU cannot ignore – even if it wanted – the removal of Turkey from democratic processes.
“As a candidate to join the EU country and a long member of the Council of Europe, we expect Turkey to apply the highest democratic standards and practices. Respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law is essential to the EU accession process. Compliance with these principles will continue to be an integral part of the EU -Turkey relations, “the High Representative – Vice President of the Commission and Committee, said in a joint statement.
At the same time, the European Union wishes to maintain a stable relationship with Turkey, despite tensions, but also Ankara seeks a comprehensive economic and political relationship with the EU. For Europe, this means that relations with Turkey will remain problematic. The question is whether Recep Tayyip Erdogan will want to keep communicating with Europe open in this game and whether the Cyprus issue could be a field to show that despite what is happening inside his country, he remains a stability factor. What will happen to the electrical interface will be a test for the sequel.