Erdoğan's Germany visit: A landmark in Turkey-EU relations

Political critics of the Western media have recently focused on two questions. The first one is directly asked while the second is more implicit.

The first question is "What is happening to Turkey?" and the second is "What is happening to Germany?"

Actually, both questions are asked to interpret the current and future situations of the two countries. As the world already knows, Turkey is no longer the old Turkey. It broke the chains of the bureaucratic regime on democracy; secular political elites supporting the status-quo were defeated and for 12 years, the public has elected the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in each election. Along with political and economic success, the new Turkey restructured by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also formed a new identity in Middle East politics.

Fifteen years ago, crowds on Arab streets used to sneer at the mention of Turkey. But now, a wave of enthusiasm and curiosity prevail when Turkey is the subject of conversation. No one could remain indifferent to Turkey's political moves in the Middle East, whether or not they favor the country. In addition, Turkey is a critical country since it is located on the energy lines of the 21st century.

When the West started to ask the first question above, unordinary things started to happen in Turkey.

At first it was the Gezi incidents, then the attempts to launch a judicial coup on Dec. 17, and finally the politicization of each social problem including the recent mining tragedy in Soma.

In the mid-2000s, the Anglo-Saxon media and political elites of France started to ask questions such as "What is happening to Germany?" "Does Germany have some secret agenda?" and "Will Germany finally become the only dominant power in Europe?"

We are at an interesting phase at the moment. For many think tanks developing strategies on Europe, the reality is this: The entity of the EU now means the entity of Germany. When viewed from a distance, one of the main determinants of the EU seems to be France. But France is politically unstable and has already lost its position of being a game player. However, it is widely known that Germany has intricate relations with its northern and eastern neighbors.

Recently, a strange incident happened. Germany, known for its dependence on Russia's energy sources to sustain its progress and power, was involved in some dangerous actions in Ukraine. Was it the U.S. forcing Germany to do so? Or was it an operation by the German deep state? Moreover, some suggest that Germany is evolving to become a colonial power again. It is a debatable issue.

However, the estimations of the West, or Germany, seemingly went wrong for now. Ukraine is being divided, the Russia territorial sovereignty is expanding and things are increasingly complicated.

The reason I depicted the details of this picture is because both Germany and Turkey are evolving and shedding their former political roles. They cross each other's paths in the process.

Turkey may ignore the conspiratorial and hostile approaches toward the country by some European states, but it cannot stand the official state speaking through Der Spiegel newspaper. A German politician warning the prime minister of Turkey not to pay a visit to Germany cannot be accepted.

Erdoğan's visit is going to occur in a very fragile context. To be honest, the Merkel government is required to show maximum care to prevent possible mistakes during the visit; otherwise, nothing will remain the same for Turkey on the matter of Europe.