TURKEY IS GIVING OUT CARDS
MIROSŁAW PIOTROWSKI
Politically correct politicians fail to see that Turkey has not changed, only circumstances have
When over 11 years ago, I started my work as a euro-deputy in the European Parliament, one of the main problems was Turkey. It had its membership in the European Union promised, but in fact, only a few people wanted to implement this plan. Germany was the main inhibiting factor, with its experience of over 3 million Turkish diaspora on its territory. Turkey was an applicant from which the Union was diplomatically defending itself, criticizing the lack of democratic standards. The situation got reversed when facing the migration catastrophe. Hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving in the Union are mainly the Syrians but they arrive here from camps in Turkey.
It is not a secret that this phenomenon was strengthened by something more than only an encouragement of the government in this country. It was too late when EU politicians realized that president Erdogan was pursuing a planned game – he was both engaged in Syria, even allowing for provocative shooting down the Russian plane, and was steering a wave of migrants, causing a chaos on our continent. An additional effect is the decline of popularity of such politicians as Angela Merkel. The Union was forced to reform its attitude. Not only did it invite president Erdogan to Brussels, but it also agreed to organizing a separate EU summit meeting – Turkey. Promising to prevent the wave of migrants, the Union promised Turkey, among the others, 3 milliard euro and visa liberalization for 75 million of its citizens. It is possible that – as the western press informed, as well as the prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orban- there was a secret agreement under which half a million people, considered as refugees, are to be directly moved from Turkey to EU countries. Our benefits from the agreement are uncertain, whereas Turkey is triumphing. During the summit meeting, nothing was mentioned about the lack of freedom of speech or arrested journalists in this country, and there is silence about the issue of genocide of the Armenians, and also the current occupation of a part of Cyprus, in fact, a membership country of EU. At present Turkey as a NATO membership country, which has got one of the biggest armies in the world, seems to care less about its membership in the Union. Moreover, it seems to refer to historical imperial ambitions. Recently, in the European Parliament in Brussels, euro-deputies have been alarming that we are selling ourselves to the Turks, and are becoming subject to a blackmail of Turkey, and one of them said that ‘an European elector kneeled in front of the sultan of Turkey’. Maybe these are too strong words.
However, undoubtedly, weakness of the Union results in the fact that it is Turkey which is giving our cards. Politically correct politicians fail to see that Turkey has not changed, only circumstances have.
AA
„Niedziela” 50/2015