Filenews 19 March 2022 - byAndreas Pimpisis
By taking advantage of the Ukrainian crisis, Turkey is seeking to benefit on many different levels, including the European Union area. The establishment of PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) in 2017 was seen by Turkey as an easy task, since its NATO accesses would also open the doors for it. However, the criteria laid down in order for a non-member of the European Union to be able to join are such that they do not allow for the violation.
Ankara is once again attempting to achieve PESCO membership through the back door and without respecting the basic conditions of cooperation, many of which have to do with Turkey's behaviour towards Cyprus. The war in Ukraine and the EU's search for a "military identity" were perceived by Turkey as an opportunity to achieve participation in PESCO. However, it does not succeed precisely because it does not meet the basic conditions set for a country to join the Partnership. Among the criteria to be met by Turkey are:
1. Agreement on the secure exchange of classified information between Member States. It is assumed that Turkey in no way intends to exchange classified information with the Republic of Cyprus. This can be seen through the EU-NATO dialogue, which is facing problems due to the Turkish attitude towards Cyprus.
2. A number of political criteria relating to respect for the principles of good neighbourliness are also not met by Turkey, taking into account its aggressive actions against Cyprus and Greece.
The Foreign Minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, recently said (Sigma) that he is receiving "some messages from countries that want to upgrade Turkey in terms of Europe's external security and defence and its participation in PESCO". The Kasoulides report did not come out of nowhere as some countries allied to Turkey in NATO are pushing in their own way, citing, among other things, the well-known excuse for contributing to the improvement of the EU-NATO dialogue and Ankara's relations with Greece and Cyprus. This recipe has been tried many times in the past without successful results.
Kaimaktsi Reports
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Farouk Kaimakci in statements (source Günes/PIO) criticised the EU for the fact that despite promises made to Turkey in 2004, his country is not within the European Defence Agenda and PESCO. Noting that there are problems in many areas due to the Cyprus issue, Kaimaktsi said that this also affects EU-NATO cooperation.
Speaking at the 79th Session of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, Kaimakci argued that Turkey has always been in favour of security and stability in Europe and that it is conducting diplomatic efforts with many sides including Ukraine and Russia to achieve stability and a ceasefire. He noted that during Turkey's accession process there are things that belong to her, but he argued that the EU is not behaving fairly in his country. "As strong as the accession process is, the quicker the reforms in Turkey will be," Kaimakci added, pointing out that 80% of the Turkish people are in favour of their country's accession to the EU and that this is what the parties represented in the Turkish National Assembly support.
The Turkish official also expressed the view that "it is now a necessity to modernise the Customs Union" between Turkey and the EU, arguing that post-pandemic economic recovery efforts, digital transformation and green trade urgently require a modernised Customs Union, since the existing one does not meet the needs.
