The discreet charm of hypocrisy: An EU-Turkey Power Audit

Background

A http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-turkey-leaders-meeting-26-march-2018/ between leaders of the European Union and Turkey was held on 26 March 2018 in Varna, Bulgaria. The leaders discussed a wide-ranging set of items, including:

+ Cooperation on the management of migration flows;
+ Tackling terrorism;
+ Rule of law in Turkey;
+ Turkey's actions in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea;
+ Turkey's involvement in Syria. Summary:

+ Among European elites, there was still substantial support for a strategic partnership with Turkey – albeit not for advancing the beleaguered accession process. Europe needed to find new channels through which to engage with Ankara.

+ Since Turkey showed no immediate desire to restore the rule of law or a reform process, for the time being EU member states could, at best, strive to engage in transactional bilateral relations with Turkey, as an effective partnership with the country was critical to their interests.

+ Ankara and the Council of Europe should work together to address issues such as human rights, the rule of law, and political freedoms in Turkey – outside of the EU accession process but in line with the Copenhagen Criteria.

+ The EU should update its customs union with Turkey, not least because trade between the two sides had generally benefited pro-European Turkish businesses and civil society groups.

+ The EU and Turkey should establish a framework for addressing disputes that involve the Turkish diaspora in Europe, while coordinating their policies on conflicts in the Middle East.

• Primary Source

SETA: European Studies: Opinion, 21.04.18: Paradigm shift in Turkey-EU relations http://www.setav.org/en/paradigm-shift-in-turkey-eu-relations/

Carnegie Europe: Strategic Europe, 22.01.18: A Sea Change for Turkey in Europe (et al) http://www.europeansources.info/record/a-sea-change-for-turkey-in-europe/

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