Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • Global cities
    • Strategic autonomy
    • War in Ukraine
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Saving EU-Turkish Relations – And The EU Itself

Ozay Mehmet 24th March 2017

Ozy Mehmet

Ozy Mehmet

Better relations between Ankara-Brussels require cool heads and bold moves. The Dutch election results are encouraging news, both for the EU and its relations with Ankara. The Dutch have rejected extremism, but it is only a first step. The toxic atmosphere leading up to these elections indicates the huge challenges ahead. Along with Brexit and an unpredictable president in the White House, Turkey and EU need to cooperate even more than before.

Turkish democracy needs Europe. There is no alternative. But, for its own survival, EU needs Turkey to handle Islamism, to prevent a new flood of refugees, but also for energy security, NATO defence, and international terrorism.

Yes, EU faces structural problems. Its biggest existential challenge, however, is external: Trump-style trade wars, threats to NATO from the east, Islamic turmoil. Jean-Claude Junckers’ Five Scenarios, a rehash of the 2013 New Pact for Europe, is a set of ideas that amounts to little more than domestic housekeeping chores. In the meantime, neo-nationalist populism in Europe is home-grown extremism which must be stopped. Not all EU countries are anti-immigration, and not all diaspora Turks in Europe are Islamist. Cool heads all around must come to the fore.

Let’s start with economics to sketch out why EU needs reinventing. The Second-Best Theorem provides the essential clue. The EU project, from its early coal and steel days, was an idea designed to make Europe rich and peaceful. Fine idea, but not at the expense of the Rest. From the Treaty of Rome to the Euro-Crisis in 2009, EU did amazingly well. But any trade bloc maximizing its economic welfare by inflicting “immiserizing growth” in its periphery harms the wider humanity.

On global welfare criteria, EU is a Second Best, inferior to the Global First Best in which all global citizens benefit. An EU, especially as a Christian Club as some wish, behind walls, is no solution. Not when the Rest is impoverished under debt, deprivation and injustice.


Become part of our Community of Thought Leaders


Get fresh perspectives delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter to receive thought-provoking opinion articles and expert analysis on the most pressing political, economic and social issues of our time. Join our community of engaged readers and be a part of the conversation.

Sign up here

Then there is the folly of the Euro. The Theory of Optimum Currency Area explains why the Euro was wrong from the start. Productivity and efficiency in the Eurozone are too divergent to sustain a single currency. Harmonizing monetary policy before fiscal and labor market policies was putting the cart before the horse. Robert Mundell, a Canadian economist, who had a finger in setting up the Euro, knew about regional disparities. European fathers ignored this major lesson. Now a generation of young and unemployed are now paying for it. Social Europe remains a dream. A more flexible currency system would be essential for that.

So, what is the future? Sink or Swim: A new world order will emerge out of the existing chaos, hopefully with an open and progressive new Europe.

Under the Sink scenario, Europe can follow Trump’s populism, go protectionist and turn Islamophobia into some kind of anti-immigration ideology. The Dutch have rejected Wilders’ extremism.  Le Pen, hopefully, will be next. That is the way to prevent a new Age of Crusades.

Under the Swim scenario, the EU would be a Union of Values. Social Europe must be inclusive, with Euro Turks as equal citizens. Externally, such an EU should embrace a brand new inter-faith, inter-cultural global vision recognizing, indeed celebrating, our world of diversity, beyond Europe. This would be, not a Clash of Civilizations, more like the UN’s Alliance of Civilization, co-chaired jointly by Spain and RTE’s Turkey. It died at the hands of Al Qaeda, ISIL and other terrorist organizations seeking regime change by violence. Turkey has its own terrorist organization, PKK. Ambivalence or indifference is not an option on terrorism.

Europe urgently needs a coherent policy on fighting terrorism, as integral part of Islamophobia and refugee policy. In all of these and more, Ankara can help.

But what exactly does Ankara want in return? Simply put, Turkey wants to be a cultural bridge, utilizing its unique geographic location as a geopolitical asset. Ankara sees itself as a facilitator in a genuine dialogue between the Christian and Islamic worlds.

“Turkish cultural bridge” was imbedded in Turgut Ozal’s application for membership in 1987. It has been poorly articulated. Mon Cher diplomats for years gently waited in the ante-room. In the AKP period, relations started off promisingly. Turkey became a candidate country in 2004. Thereafter, relations degenerated into a confrontational tit-for-tat. RTE finally lost his patience (and cool) after the failed Coup of 15 July, 2016. Now, he must mend his style and rhetoric. In the EU, Islamophobia must not become the latest manifestation of “European Insincerity.”      Turkey-EU relations must be saved. Accession talks, now in deep-freeze, will eventually resume, on merit alone hopefully. No conditionality imposed by Greeks or others. Turks, no less than Europeans, are too proud for that.

Several Turkish leaders have stated repeatedly that they do not want to become a financial burden on the EU budget. Turkey already has a Customs Union agreement. With updating, it can be the foundation of an agreed privileged partnership. As for Turkish job seekers flooding the EU labor market, this fear, too, is best dealt with jointly. Visa liberalization requires a realistic definition of who exactly is a terrorist in a democracy. Both Turks and Europeans now have suffered from terrorism and they must go beyond it.


Support Progressive Ideas: Become a Social Europe Member!


Support independent publishing and progressive ideas by becoming a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month. You can help us create more high-quality articles, podcasts and videos that challenge conventional thinking and foster a more informed and democratic society. Join us in our mission - your support makes all the difference!

Become a Social Europe Member

By history and culture, Turkey sees itself as the bridge to the Muslim world. Just look at the recent books on the Making of the Modern Middle East to understand how intricately the Turkish heritage lives in the Middle East. Ankara and a progressive EU can help build a more tolerant and harmonious world, starting with improved Muslim-Christian relations.

Not much can and should be expected in the near future. But, after the Turkish referendum on 16 April, a new relationship should be formulated. If Erdogan wins fair and square, EU should welcome it. For his part, Erdogan must become inclusive and fully democratic. Should RTE lose, Europe must act responsibly in the interest of strengthening Turkish democracy and rule of law.

The worst would be indifference. Good relations with Ankara are essential to manage refugee flows and other strategic interests, including European energy security via the southern corridor.  Most of all, its own survival needs it as a post-modern, non-Christian Union in a world of cultural diversity and complexity. Turkey is a test case.

Ozay Mehmet

Ozay Mehmet, Ph.D (Toronto), Senior Fellow, Modern Turkish Studies, Distinguished Research Professor, International Affairs (Emeritus) at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

You are here: Home / Politics / Saving EU-Turkish Relations – And The EU Itself

Most Popular Posts

Russia,information war Russia is winning the information warAiste Merfeldaite
Nanterre,police Nanterre and the suburbs: the lid comes offJoseph Downing
Russia,nuclear Russia’s dangerous nuclear consensusAna Palacio
Belarus,Lithuania A tale of two countries: Belarus and LithuaniaThorvaldur Gylfason and Eduard Hochreiter
retirement,Finland,ageing,pension,reform Late retirement: possible for many, not for allKati Kuitto

Most Recent Posts

Vienna,social housing Vienna social-housing model—celebrated but misusedGabu Heindl
social democracy,nation-state Social democracy versus the nativist rightJan Zielonka
chemical,European Union Which comes first—Big Toxics’ profits or health?Vicky Cann
Russia,journalists,Ukraine,target Ukraine: journalists in Russia’s sightsKelly Bjorkland and Simon Smith
European Union,enlargement,Balkans EU enlargement—back to the futureEmilija Tudzarovska

Other Social Europe Publications

strategic autonomy Strategic autonomy
Bildschirmfoto 2023 05 08 um 21.36.25 scaled 1 RE No. 13: Failed Market Approaches to Long-Term Care
front cover Towards a social-democratic century?
Cover e1655225066994 National recovery and resilience plans
Untitled design The transatlantic relationship

ETUI advertisement

The future of remote work

The 12 chapters collected in this volume provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the impact and the future trajectories of remote work, from the nexus between the location from where work is performed and how it is performed to how remote locations may affect the way work is managed and organised, as well as the applicability of existing legislation. Additional questions concern remote work’s environmental and social impact and the rapidly changing nature of the relationship between work and life.


AVAILABLE HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Eurofound Talks: housing

In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound’s senior research manager, Hans Dubois, about the issues that feed into housing insecurity in Europe and the actions that need to be taken to address them. Together, they analyse findings from Eurofound’s recent Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe report, which presents data from Eurofound’s Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents on various indicators of housing security and living conditions.


LISTEN HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

The summer issue of the Progressive Post magazine by FEPS is out!

The Special Coverage of this new edition is dedicated to the importance of biodiversity, not only as a good in itself but also for the very existence of humankind. We need a paradigm change in the mostly utilitarian relation humans have with nature.

In this issue, we also look at the hazards of unregulated artificial intelligence, explore the shortcomings of the EU's approach to migration and asylum management, and analyse the social downside of the EU's current ethnically-focused Roma policy.


DOWNLOAD HERE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI European Collective Bargaining Report 2022 / 2023

With real wages falling by 4 per cent in 2022, workers in the European Union suffered an unprecedented loss in purchasing power. The reason for this was the rapid increase in consumer prices, behind which nominal wage growth fell significantly. Meanwhile, inflation is no longer driven by energy import prices, but by domestic factors. The increased profit margins of companies are a major reason for persistent inflation. In this difficult environment, trade unions are faced with the challenge of securing real wages—and companies have the responsibility of making their contribution to returning to the path of political stability by reducing excess profits.


DOWNLOAD HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us

RSS Feed

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube