Turkey cozies up to EU members in the East
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The balancing act Turkey must maintain in its dealings with East and West is nothing new. It can be clearly observed in its policies on Europe, in which there are clear differences in its approach to relations depending on whether countries are geopolitically, or ideologically, in the East or West.
The foreign ministers of EU nations met on Dec.10-11 to discuss possible sanctions on Ankara as a result of a range of issues that have caused disputes with Turkey.
However Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently predicted that any sanctions imposed by the EU will not have a great effect. He added that the European bloc has never acted honestly or kept its promises, all the way back to 1963 when the Association Agreement (Ankara Agreement) was signed.
As relations with Western capitals have gradually deteriorated, there has been a growing tendency in Ankara to seek new friends in Central and Eastern Europe.
Hungary seems to be top of the list. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto recently paid an official visit to Ankara, during which he stated that the EU’s security depends heavily on Turkey, and reiterated the fact that the country is a strategic partner for the EU in many fields.
He added that cooperation between the EU and Turkey must be maintained and that Hungary stands ready to help establish talks between Ankara and the bloc. In recent years Turkey and Hungary have made efforts to increase their cooperation, particularly in the defense sector.
Poland can safely be placed second on Turkey’s friendship list. Ankara’s support for Poland’s accession to NATO in 1999 and Poland’s support for Turkey’s EU membership have helped to boost political and bilateral relations.
Deep-rooted relations between the two evolved further with the signing of the Declaration on Turkish-Polish Strategic Partnership in 2009. In a recent interview the Polish ambassador to Turkey said his country hopes to further boost cooperation with Turkey in the fields of defense and security.
As a NATO partner, Turkey places great importance on its relationship with Poland, which represents a strategic element in Ankara’s policy on Central and Eastern Europe.
Hungary and Poland, Eastern European countries that once were behind the Iron Curtain, joined the EU in 2004. However, they are among a number of Eastern European countries that once fought against Soviet oppression but are now ruled by governments that attract heavy criticism from Brussels.
Budapest and Warsaw have long been at loggerheads with the EU over democratic issues. An EU assessment of the rule of law expressed “serious concern” about judicial independence in both countries.
Years of escalating tensions have now grown into a political crisis, with the European Commission preparing to take legal action against both governments for violating EU laws.
In recent years, the divisions and the disagreements within the EU have dominated critical debates, and some member countries are deeply disappointed by the failure of the bloc to demonstrate full-scale cohesion. This situation has provided fertile ground for some other countries, such as Turkey, Russia or China, to fill the gaps.
At a time when a shared identity and sense of collective solidarity within the EU seems an increasingly distant prospect, the leadership of Turkey does not consider a reluctance by members to admit Ankara to be any great loss. This was the message behind Erdogan’s statement, although he did also recently say that Turkey’s future lies in Europe.
At a time when a shared identity and sense of collective solidarity within the EU seems an increasingly distant prospect, the leadership of Turkey does not consider a reluctance by members to admit Ankara to be any great loss.
Sinem Cengiz
Ukraine might be ranked third on Turkey’s list of friends. Although not an EU member, it earns its place alongside Hungary and Poland as a result of its common, Soviet-era history. The EU has a great interest in this and so Ukraine is a priority partner for Brussels, which seeks to build an increasingly close relationship that will gradually build on existing cooperation to include economic integration and deeper political cooperation.
Ukraine is a longstanding pro-NATO advocate and a pro-Western former Soviet state in a contested region. Therefore it is also of strategic importance to Turkey, which has stepped up its efforts to boost ties with Kyiv as well.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently paid strategic visits to NATO members Poland and Turkey. The latter has been laying the foundations for a promising defense-cooperation partnership with Ukraine for some time. The two countries are working together on game-changing military developments such as drone warfare, aerospace engines and missile technology.
They also agreed to establish a Quadriga “2+2” format, under which the foreign and defense ministers from one country meet with their counterparts from another. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his Turkish counterpart will visit Ukraine in late December for the first meeting under this format.
In addition, Erdogan has given his support to Ukraine’s bid for membership of NATO.
Hungary, Poland and Ukraine have differing internal considerations and foreign policy motivations that make it difficult to make completely accurate comparisons. However the approaches of each to Turkey must be viewed within the broader context of the EU.
- Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkey's relations with the Middle East. Twitter: @SinemCngz
