Turkey’s visible pragmatic return to its European Union agenda following a long-term breeze in ties with Brussels is aiming both to distract attention from poor foreign policy performance in the Middle East and to utilize the soon-to-be-signed visa deal with Brussels as part of the ruling party’s pre-election campaign, according to foreign diplomats.
“You will hear good news on Dec. 16. Turkey is launching a new process with the EU. You will hear about it on Dec. 16, I am not disclosing it now. You will be informed about it when we put our signatures on Dec. 16,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was quoted as saying by the Anadolu Agency during his Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) rally in Kırıkkale, a town in Thrace, on Dec. 6.
The process Erdoğan heralded to the audience was the beginning of visa liberalization talks with the EU on the condition that Turkey signs the long-awaited Readmission Agreement, something already publicized by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu early last week. Both Turkish and European diplomats deem the deal very important and a historic turning point in the accession process.
Turkish citizens will be able to travel visa-free to EU countries in less than three-and-half years should certain requirements be fulfilled, Davutoğlu had said.
But for many diplomats, equally important is the government’s realization of a need to distract attention from poor foreign policy performance in Middle East and particularly in Syria and Egypt.
“Turkey has lost allies and, more importantly, credibility in the region. While on the one hand it’s trying to repair its damaged ties in the region, it’s also exerting efforts to highlight relatively better faces of its foreign policy,” another EU diplomat stressed.
However, one problem with this motive is that the EU is an institution that is based on values like democracy, freedom of speech, right to assembly and human rights, the diplomat said, adding “It’s of course positive that we have more contacts nowadays and working on concrete projects. But Turkey is a candidate country and needs to continue to harmonize its democratic and bureaucratic acquis with that of the Union.”
Read more: POLITICS - Turkey returns to EU as foreign policy fails
“You will hear good news on Dec. 16. Turkey is launching a new process with the EU. You will hear about it on Dec. 16, I am not disclosing it now. You will be informed about it when we put our signatures on Dec. 16,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was quoted as saying by the Anadolu Agency during his Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) rally in Kırıkkale, a town in Thrace, on Dec. 6.
The process Erdoğan heralded to the audience was the beginning of visa liberalization talks with the EU on the condition that Turkey signs the long-awaited Readmission Agreement, something already publicized by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu early last week. Both Turkish and European diplomats deem the deal very important and a historic turning point in the accession process.
Turkish citizens will be able to travel visa-free to EU countries in less than three-and-half years should certain requirements be fulfilled, Davutoğlu had said.
But for many diplomats, equally important is the government’s realization of a need to distract attention from poor foreign policy performance in Middle East and particularly in Syria and Egypt.
“Turkey has lost allies and, more importantly, credibility in the region. While on the one hand it’s trying to repair its damaged ties in the region, it’s also exerting efforts to highlight relatively better faces of its foreign policy,” another EU diplomat stressed.
However, one problem with this motive is that the EU is an institution that is based on values like democracy, freedom of speech, right to assembly and human rights, the diplomat said, adding “It’s of course positive that we have more contacts nowadays and working on concrete projects. But Turkey is a candidate country and needs to continue to harmonize its democratic and bureaucratic acquis with that of the Union.”
Read more: POLITICS - Turkey returns to EU as foreign policy fails
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