The European Union is one of the largest civil society projects in history.
According to the Brussels plan, members of the union, which reached stability by meeting economic and political criteria, would end the history of civil wars and coups in the continent.
For many years, the union received its legitimacy and prestige from this civilian feature. The EU also made Turkey understand this perspective during its accession process of more than half a century.
The union supported Turkish governments, especially since the 1980s, to undermine the system of military tutelage. It was supportive of not only the liberation of politics from military pressure in the country, but also of a further that military policies would be determined by civilians.
Just like the transition period in Spain, it encouraged Turkish politics and people for the military to operate only in the technical area.
However, the same EU grew strangely ill-tempered with Ankara as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) took structural steps in this regard and increased its power in the civilian sphere.
Many anti-EU, nationalist Turks came to more clearly voice that this attitude from the EU was evidence of a "secret agenda" that they had defended for many years.
According to them, the EU wants the decline of the Turkish military's role in politics., but not wants this to result in politics becoming capable and the military, which withdrew into the technical area, to become professional and gain strength, but, they argue, that the EU's goal is purely and simply Turkey's decline.
Unfortunately, the EU focused on the rhetoric of strengthening nationalists' hands as the AK Party, which struggled with this mentality for many years, gained strength in the political arena.
It almost played into the hands of the reactionary junta, which wore a modernist mask, with its rhetoric and actions toward Turkey before the attempted coup on July 15, 2016. It closed chapters that had been opened and on which progress had been made, making the possibility to advocate membership impossible.
It applauded all salvos of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was the main player in the coup attempt, against the elected civilian government that negotiated with the EU.
The attitude of Brussels during and after the coup attempt was no different, either. EU authorities that gave speeches in previous years as the knights of civil politics were in a deep sleep on the night of July 15, when putschist troops went out on the streets and opened fire on the people and Parliament.
The EU remained silent when the Turkish people, whom it left alone, and politics heroically repelled the coup. It did not even condemn coup plotters and carefully avoided any explanation that would show its support for civilian politics.
To crown it all, it criticized the measures taken to send soldiers back to their barracks and the state's use of the right of self-defense in accordance with the country's laws. Today, many of the would-be coup-makers deemed responsible for the deaths of 249 people are held in high esteem in EU countries and are not being extradited, which is delineated in the EU legal system.
The latest surprise from the EU for Turkish people, who will mark the first anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt in two days, was the European Parliament's decision to freeze Turkey's accession talks.
The Turkish public, up to 70 percent of whom once supported the EU, is preparing to commemorate July 15 in this mood.