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Will the EU still be able to agree on punitive measures against Turkey? In view of the recent provocations by the Turkish president, this can no longer be ruled out. Possible reactions against Ankara are already being considered.
A photo of Macron near Hebron, set on fire by students.
For the Dutch, it is déjà vu. Three years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred to them as “descendants of the Nazis.” The background for this was the expulsion of a Turkish minister who wanted to publicize the controversial presidential system in Turkey in the Netherlands. At that time Germany also got fat and had to listen to the practice of “Nazi methods” because Erdogan’s confidants were prevented from appearing in the election campaign.
Meanwhile, the Turkish head of state has once again heated up his Nazi accusations, but now has the entire continent in sight. In the course of an anti-Western campaign aimed at distracting attention from the bad economic situation in his own country, Erdogan took the latest Islamic statements from French President Emmanuel Macron as an opportunity to distribute them not only against allegedly Islamophobic France, but against All Europe.
Indescribable Nazi comparisons
The EU heads of government, the Polterer called his followers in Ankara this week, were “links in the chain of the National Socialists” and “like a plague” hostility towards Islam and Muslims is spreading across the continent. . Erdogan found that this “lynching campaign” was really only comparable to the persecution of Jews before World War II.
Since then, the reactions of Europeans have been unanimous. Erdogan’s words were “unacceptable,” tweeted the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Your country fully supports France and the “collective values of the EU”. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also showed “full solidarity” with Macron, and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa wrote on Twitter that they jointly defended fundamental freedoms in France and the European model of tolerance.
Even Germany, which has so far tried more to moderate the conflict with Turkey, has hardened the tone. The Turkish president’s attacks are “a new low,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. In the fight against Islamist extremists, they are “in solidarity with France” and also have “great understanding” for the withdrawal of the French ambassador from Ankara.
Could Erdogan have passed the curve this time? At their last summit, four weeks ago, EU states had in vain warned Ankara about new foreign policy provocations. For its actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya, Syria and the Caucasus, Turkey disagrees with several Member States, but above all with France, Greece and Cyprus. With a carrot and stick strategy – that is, positive incentives on the one hand and threats of sanctions on the other – Germany hoped to appease its “difficult partner” Erdogan. This strategy has been useless so far.
Strike Against Steel Exporters?
The EU Commission gave an indication that the Turkish head of government shot himself in the leg calling for a boycott of French products. Such calls for boycotts are inconsistent with the spirit of the bilateral trade agreements that Turkey has signed, an agency spokesman said. These agreements, enshrined in the association agreement, the customs union and the free trade agreements for agriculture, coal and steel, provide for the free movement of goods. Therefore, possible punitive measures against Turkey would be examined.
In particular, Brussels wants to examine anti-dumping investigations, for example, against Turkish steel exporters, as two EU officials entrusted to the “Politico” news portal. European steelmakers have already filed complaints against cheap imports. The Commission could also initiate investigations in other important economic sectors for Turkey.
This is not enough for several member states. In particular, there are voices from Greece and Cyprus calling for the complete suspension of the customs union and an arms embargo against Ankara. Turkey’s important trading partners, such as Germany, have so far rejected a radical break. An EU diplomat no longer wants to rule out the possibility that Germany may also give up its resistance to sanctions if pressure from Paris and other capitals increases.
Brussels correspondent Daniel Steinvorth Twitter Consequences.
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