Turkey and EU: The Kodak-Moment

by Burak Bekdil • December 14, 2014 at 5:00 am

The truth is, Turkey's longer-than-half a-century journey to full EU membership offers volumes of thick picture books full of similar smiling faces, most of them no longer alive. But both the club and the applicant know that Turkey has been dragged planets away from the EU in terms of culture and socio-politics. Turkey is sometimes even hostile to Europe.

While the Europeans wasted their time in self-deception – that Turkey's Islamists were in fact pro-EU, post-Islamist reformers – Turkey was implementing a plan to turn into, not a member of, but a Muslim challenge to what its leaders privately view as a hostile "Christendom."

Turkey, under Islamist rule, has keenly pretended that it wants EU membership, while in reality deeply disliking "Christian" culture; and the EU leaders have pretended that Turkey would one day join the club, while knowing that it would not.

Where Europe meets Turkey. Posing in this December 8 photo are, from left to right: Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations; Volkan Bozkır, Turkey's Minister for EU Affairs; Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management. (Image source: EU)

Judging from fancy, Kodak-moment photos that appeared in the press over the past week as well as related statements from European Union [EU] and Turkish bigwigs, one could be tempted to think that things are coming up roses between Ankara and Brussels. Facts, as often, are quite different from what smiling faces and repeated optimism reveal.

On Dec. 6, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, accompanied by nine Turkish cabinet members, visited his Greek counterpart, Antonis Samaras, in Athens, where the leaders of these traditional Aegean rivals happily glossed over major differences and expressed support for closer relations.

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