Recently, many Western officials have initiated an anti-Türkiye campaign. Many Western political circles have made statements that alienate Türkiye and discredit pro-Türkiye states, institutions and politicians.
The latest wave of anti-Türkiye narratives began in Israel. Similarly, all anti-Türkiye statements in the United States and Europe are made by pro-Israel politicians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers have made anti-Türkiye statements and tried to associate Türkiye with violent non-state actors to divert the attention of the international community. Even before Israel and the U.S. declared war on Iran, many Israeli politicians tried to discredit Türkiye. For example, some Israeli politicians, such as former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, declared Türkiye a threat to Israel. Bennet stated that “Türkiye is the new Iran” after the war.
Then, pro-Israeli lobbies and think tanks such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) continued to target Ankara, claiming that Türkiye contributes to regional instability, deviates from alliance priorities within NATO and poses a future threat to Israel. FDD, which is trying to exonerate Israel for its crimes committed in the Middle East, tries to distract the attention of the international community from Israel’s crimes. FDD went further, as its experts claimed that Türkiye should be expelled from NATO.
Similar to the U.S. officials, Europeans are also under the heavy influence of Israel. Influenced by the Israeli officials and Zionist circles, European officials have followed the same path and lined up to criticize, a NATO member, Türkiye. First, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, an experienced German politician, emphasized her support for the EU enlargement and pointed out that the EU “must succeed in completing the European continent so that it is not influenced by Russia, Türkiye or China.”
On another front, French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to Athens, claimed that his country would stand by Greece if it ever came under attack from its neighbor and longtime regional rival Türkiye. Macron signed a bilateral strategic defense agreement with Greece, a state that follows a zero-sum relationship with Türkiye. That is, France is supporting a NATO member (Greece) and even a non-NATO member (the Greek Cypriot administration) against another NATO member (Türkiye).
Many interpretations can be drawn from these anti-Türkiye stances. First of all, the Western officials have indirectly implied that Türkiye is a power center that cannot be ignored. Their statements indicate Türkiye’s increasing regional and global influence and its strategic autonomy. In other words, Europe knows that Türkiye is not the same country it used to be, but it does not want to acknowledge it. It is quite interesting that instead of benefiting from Türkiye’s relations with third countries, EU officials see Türkiye’s non-Western orientation as a threat to its future.
Second, the anti-Türkiye perspective shows that Israel heavily controls the EU institutions and many EU officials. Most European officials follow the footsteps of the pro-Israeli circles. Due to the loss of national or continental interests, the pro-Israeli stance is also criticized by many EU officials, including EU members of parliament and state authorities, who criticize pro-Israeli politicians.
Furthermore, the most recent statements showed that the EU has lost its strategic outlook. There is too much confusion and uncertainty on the continent, which perceives threats from both the East and the West. On the one hand, the U.S. is about to abandon Europe to its own devices. On the other hand, Russia continues to pose a vital threat to Europe. At this point, Europe cannot compete with three global powers, mainly the U.S., Russia and China. The future of the European security architecture is problematic. Given the historical legacy of Türkiye in Europe and its contiguous geography, Türkiye is part of Europe. A political perspective that sees Ankara as an influencer damages European strategic capacity. Therefore, this political approach is self-defeating for Europe.
It is becoming clearer every other day that Türkiye’s EU membership is no longer desirable by European institutions and its member states. As the EU’s tendency to alienate Türkiye increases, so does Türkiye’s need to improve its relations with the non-Western countries. Therefore, Türkiye prefers to improve its relations with individual states, rather than the EU institutions. It is always easier to reach an agreement with member states, rather than the EU’s rigid decision-making mechanisms. European states, which are aware of Türkiye’s strategic importance, know well that it is impossible to ignore Türkiye. Technically, Türkiye cannot be excluded from the European security architecture.
The EU is more fragmented than ever. After Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, EU member states began to follow different policies in many issue areas, thus greatly damaging the common policies of the alliance. Among others, their perspectives on Türkiye are also quite different. While France and Greece represent the most anti-Türkiye front, some other states, such as Spain and Italy, have close relations with Türkiye.
Von der Leyen’s and Macron’s statements reflect the strategic blindness of Europe. They reveal Europe’s ongoing internal tensions and strategic contradictions. Considering that the continent’s resilience is very low, EU officials and authorities of member states will face strong criticism from their people, who do not want to give up their comfort. European peoples do not understand why their countries get involved in other countries’ wars. By “other countries,” they are also referring to other EU member states.
Last, but not least, we will have to wait and see whether irresponsible EU officials and governments controlled by a third state, or the European people, will pay the price. It seems that it is more likely that the EU officials, such as von der Leyen, who repeatedly explained her support for the Gaza genocide and the aggression of Israel, and/or her colleagues, may lose their posts. Moreover, representatives of member states will have to answer to the public in the upcoming elections for these biased and unhelpful stances that do not benefit Europe.
