In terms of Turkish-EU relations, 2017 has been a rough year. Unfortunately, the EU and a number of EU countries have made some crucial mistakes throughout the year with regard to Turkey.

Without Turkey, racists and far-right movements in Europe would have had the chance to be more successful in the 2017 elections held in various EU countries, including Germany. Still, 2017 saw new victories for far-right movements across Europe, posing an even greater threat to democracy in the EU.

If Turkey and the EU had not signed the refugee agreement and if Turkey had not showed great care in following it, the number of refugees in the EU would have been much higher today. Racist and far-right parties, which increase their vote share as refugee numbers climb, might have doubled the number of seats they had in European parliaments. German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced defeat in the general elections, and if she is able to remain chancellor, she owes her success to a large extent to Turkey's fulfillment of the conditions of the refugee agreement.

Turkey is a great supporter of European democracy, which has been dealing with the threat posed by far-right groups, and despite their significant accomplishments, they are still not as influential as feared.

Ignoring all the problems Turkey has experienced, the country has been the main issue during the election campaigns for other reasons. Parties chose to speculate about and discuss Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by leaving aside their government programs and issues in domestic politics. It was very unfortunate for political parties in EU countries to compete against each other through anti-Turkish sentiment. Accordingly, the main issues covered by media outlets have also been about Turkey while some anti-Turkey contents have been released.Such developments led to biases against Turkey among EU citizens and European tourists wanting to travel to Turkey have been hindered. Although Turkey has peace and inner stability, the country is misrepresented as dangerous to European tourists. With an aim to undermine the Turkish economy, European organizations have tried to sabotage Turkey in many fields, including tourism.

Although some EU countries, such as Germany, accused Turkey of intervening in their national elections and interior affairs, they themselves intervened in Turkey's constitutional amendment referendum to an unprecedented degree. EU-based media outlets bolstered the opposition campaigns by publishing material written in Turkish. While politicians of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) were prevented from making propaganda for the new constitution, the outlawed PKK's terrorist propaganda organized under the pretext of the referendum campaign was condoned.

I can list numerous other incidents like these. Throughout 2017, Turkey has experienced great disappointment with regard to the EU and some EU countries. The trust of Turkish citizens in the EU has suffered greatly. The Turkish public was shocked particularly when several EU countries protected and provided safety to the militants of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and the PKK, who have claimed thousands of lives in Turkey. Such double standards are hard to forget.

In the midst of all these problems, Turkey has worked with great devotion for the resolution of the Syrian civil war, which is of vital importance, especially to the EU. In addition, the Jerusalem crisis that has now emerged toward the end of the year proved Turkey's significant role in the international community.

Despite all the negativity in 2017, we wish to make a fresh and optimistic start in the new year. We wish to believe that the Syrian and Jerusalem crises will contribute to the EU's outlook on Turkey and urge the EU to establish more positive relations with the country. It must be remembered that the EU needs Turkey as much as Turkey needs the EU.

The EU has a chance to win over Turkey in 2018. Renewing the customs union agreement, ending the vetoes on the negotiation chapters that play a crucial role in Ankara's EU membership negotiations and keeping promises with regard to visa implementations are of critical importance.

Let's hope 2018 marks close cooperation between Turkey and the EU.