German Press: The EU to find clear words to Erdogan

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Concerns are being raised in the German-language press about whether the EU and Germany have found the right way and the right language to say things clearly to the Turkish president. Like the French president.

What can and should be done by Germany and Europe to strengthen human rights in a country where the Constitution is practically out of force and foreign policy is determined by expansionist appetites and conquest aspirations? This was the central question of a press conference held yesterday at the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party in Berlin. The interview was initiated by Osman Okan, a journalist and winner of the Grimme TV Award, one of the most famous in Germany, to present the call for "Peace in the Mediterranean - Solidarity with Democrats in Turkey". The inside pages of the newspaper die Welt describe the concerns of executives of German parties as well as invited Turks who have found a second home in Germany.

The clear Macron conversations

We read: "Serpil Midiatli, president of the SPD in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, believes that the German government is well on its way, at least in terms of its mediating role in the Greek-Turkish conflict. On the other hand, Ziya Peir, a businessman from Duisburg, who was a member of the pro-Kurdish HDP party from 2015 to 2018 and now lives in Germany, does not find the backstage talks very useful and stresses that Germany should stop its policy of appeasement ( Appeasement). Everything that is discussed behind closed doors is never reported to the Turkish public and Erdogan hides it (…) the Turkish president exploits these symbolisms in his own interest. Germany should recognize the importance of this policy of symbolism, reverse the stern and use clear public discourse, like Emmanuel Macron on the Aegean. "Erdogan understood those."

For his part, Cem Ezdemir, a member of the Green Party, does not think it is appropriate to suspend the frozen EU accession talks with Turkey. "Those who demand it are at the same time the biggest arms donors (…) with Erdogan and his government. There can be no accession, but the message should be that a democratic Turkey has a place in Europe. "Germany has made extensive gestures of sympathy and friendship." What does it suggest? "A mixture of carrot and whip. "In terms of visas and customs union, one could approach Turkey, and in return, the country should launch processes of internal political recession and disarmament in foreign policy."

The EU is more determined towards Turkey

The Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung is taking an x-ray of the expansionist policy promoted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey in a lengthy article. The columnist points out that Europe has long degraded the rhetoric of the over-ambitious politician. "But at the latest, after the country's military involvement in the conflict in Libya and the escalation in the Aegean with Greece and Cyprus, Europe has belatedly acknowledged that Turkey has become a foreign policy player that must be taken seriously. into account". The newspaper stigmatizes, among other things, the Turkish media direction of sending aid during the first months of the pandemic, masks, antiseptics and protective clothing, all over the world in order for the country to gain political capital.

The columnist, after listing all the war fronts in which Turkey has been involved, in Syria, northern Iraq, northern Syria, and even in Nagorno-Karabakh, concludes: "Europe would do well to stay away from these power struggles. and spheres of influence within the Islamic world (…) Nevertheless, it cannot avoid developing a strategy towards Ankara's foreign policy. She is directly interested not only because of Cyprus and Greece. And in Libya it has interests related to its security. Europeans need Turkey to control refugee flows, but Turkey also needs Europe as a trading partner. The EU has instruments of pressure, which it must use more decisively. Self-restraint is not recognized by Erdogan. On the contrary, it takes full advantage of it. It takes determination and unity. "Otherwise, the Turkish president will continue to dictate the agenda in the Mediterranean, the Caucasus and Libya."