Turkey–EU Relations May Be A Casualty of Gezi Park
Erdogan’s mismanagement of Gezi Park crisis has spilled-over into Turkey’s relations with the European Union.
While the high tensions caused by the Gezi Park unrest and excessive police operations showed some signs of easing, their political spillover on Turkish-EU relations are fully exposed.
Taking a rough defensive position, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and some of his ministers in recent days engaged in a harsh duel of words with key EU officials and political figures in Brussels, some of whom have been known as “Turkey’s friends in Europe.” If the battle continues, as many observers predict, Turkey’s already limping accession process for EU membership may be impaired further.
The rift was already out in the open when Stefan Füle, the commissioner for enlargement, showed some “understanding” with “Occupy Gezi” protesters and posted openly critical statements against Erdogan while participating at an official meeting on the EU in Istanbul.
“Disappointed by the lost opportunity at the #Istanbul conference to reach out to those calling for respect & inclusive dialogue,” Füle, a Czech, tweeted.
