The European Union and Turkey – current affairs and perspectives
On 18 February 2021, the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) organized an online roundtable discussion with the title The European Union and Turkey – current affairs and perspectives. Didier Billion, Deputy Director of the French Institute of International Strategies and Relations (IRIS), Turkey expert and former Ambassador János Hóvári, and Máté Szalai, senior research fellow at the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade participated as panelists.
In his opening remarks, Didier Billion said that the relationship between the European Union and Turkey had been controversial for decades and that the current tensions were not principally the result of the policy led by Erdoğan. The researcher pointed out that what is at odds is the issue of identity, value and religious differences (especially given that 99% of Turkey’s population of 80 million are Muslim) and that the Union’s Eastern border is not precisely defined and it is not clear what Europeans would gain from Turkey’s accession to the EU. Billion explained that in the short and medium term, he would primarily recommend the EU to create a special status for Turkey. The researcher also spoke of the tensions in Franco-Turkish relations, highlighting that President Macron’s tough action against Ankara was counterproductive. In his view, the focus should be on areas that are in the interests of both parties, e.g. customs union negotiations, the fight against terrorism, migration, and energy policy. According to Billion, it is also important to maintain a constant dialogue on sensitive issues.
János Hóvári – in agreement with the French researcher – emphasized that he considered it important to maintain the dialogue, because Turkey had become an unquestionable centre of power since the 1990s. The former ambassador underlined the importance of customs union negotiations, as he believes everyone, but especially the V4 countries, could benefit the most from this. Hóvári also pointed out that Turkey is an important military factor, – whether it wants it or not -, following the US withdrawal from the region. From the Hungarian professor of Turkology’s point of view, Kemalism also played an important role in French-Turkish relations, as the movement sees France as an example.
Máté Szalai stated that Turkey does not equal Erdoğan, because Turkish domestic policy is complex. He pointed out that the current president is not an Islamist and is not attached to the idea of the neo-Ottoman Empire either, as this term is completely misleading. His opinion is that Turkey has sensed that the geopolitical situation allows it to strive for a position of regional and global superpower. It seeks to achieve this by various means, in a very pragmatic way. Szalai denoted that the V4 countries have a better understanding of Ankara’s policies than the Western European states, because Turkey has been a dominant geopolitical factor in this Central European region for centuries.
The full recording (in Hungarian and French) is available at the link below or on our YouTube channel!