By This post is also available in: ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
Last week, the European Parliament in Strasbourg had a busy agenda on Turkey…
It reminded me of 2004…
Almost the entire Turkish press was there…
There was hustle and bustle in the corridors with cameras, interviews, live broadcasts…
This time, though, there was not a single soul from Turkey.
No journalists, no diplomats, no civil society representatives.
The ‘Turkey Report’ prepared by Spanish MP Sanchez Amor was interesting, but it was placed towards the end of the agenda.
It began to be discussed around 8 p.m.
The next day, when the report was put to a vote, 367 of the 629 MPs who attended the meeting supported it, 74 voted against it, and 188 abstained.
There were no surprises.
However, the traditional ‘anti-Turkey stance’ that Greek and Greek Cypriot members have displayed for years was now accompanied by fresh new negativities.
Thanks to Erdoğan, Turkey has a file full of ‘human rights violations,’ which has driven even the most moderate members to despair…
Dozens of parliament members, whether conservative, left-wing, liberal or democratic, did not hold back in criticizing the ‘regime’ in Turkey.
First and foremost, the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu and other elected officials…
Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, the failure to release Demirtaş and Kavala despite the ECHR ruling…
The imprisonment of Swedish journalist Joakim Medin and his trial with a 12-year prison sentence for criticizing Erdoğan…
Femicides, animal killings…
Those who sincerely voiced these concerns were entirely right in their criticism of the ‘authoritarian’ regime.
While watching the General Assembly, I noticed that the Spanish MP who prepared the report and the two Commissioners involved used a very careful ‘language’ in their criticisms against Turkey…
Commissioner Marta Kos even used the term ‘Unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ instead of ‘occupied territory’.
Rapporteur Amor insisted that, “Turkey is not Erdoğan, Erdoğan is not Turkey.”
He warned those who criticised Turkey by saying, “Do not think that Turkey is just about Erdoğan.”
Amor presented a truly ‘balanced’ report. He argued that the vast majority of Turkish society shares the “EU perspective” and that this is why, “The door must always be left ajar.”
Meanwhile, the efforts of Greek Cypriot MPs to outdo each other and ‘grab the spotlight’ in the parliament were remarkable…
Geadis Geadi, a member of the far-right ELAM in the EP, jumped forward before the report was even discussed and proposed that Erdoğan’s “illegal visit to the occupied part of Cyprus” be condemned in the plenary session.
He had calculated that this would ‘automatically’ pass in the plenary session, but it was rejected. Instead of being put on the agenda for the following evening, the proposal was added to the report.
ELAM member Geadis sought to outdo other Greek Cypriot members in condemning Erdoğan, aiming to demonstrate his greater ‘nationalism,’ but failed in his attempt. He blamed his colleagues in Greek Cypriot newspapers, and they turned on each other.
The stage in the EU Parliament was, in fact, dominated by the Greeks and Greek Cypriots…
First, they lined up to speak on the report…
Then, the following night, while the proposal coming from the MP of ELAM was being discussed, they did not hold back in their criticism of Erdoğan and Turkey…
I should mention that the Greek MPs were shouting louder than the Greek Cypriots.
They were most angry with the Commission…
Some said, “The hypocritical EU is putting money in Erdoğan’s pocket,” while the others said, “You are just sitting there silently; we need sanctions against Turkey, we need to deploy troops to its borders.”
The anger of the Greek MP, named Afroditi, and the way she raised her voice and waved her arms while talking about Turkey was very striking.
After saying, “Turkey has occupied half of Cyprus, is threatening Greeks with war, and says she will show up one night, unexpectedly,” [Editor’s note: Reference to the lyrics of an old song that is often used in relation to Cyprus to suggest that Turkey might one day show up unexpectedly in Cyprus if things go against its desire] she also added, “We don’t want to see Turkey here in 2025, or even in 3025.’
Some said, “Turkey is the Bangladesh of the EU,” while others said, “Don’t sell him weapons”…
Greek Cypriot MP Mihail Hacibandela shouted, “I am a refugee. I have not been able to return to the house where I was born within the past 51 years. I am unable to go to our church,” as his emotional voice made the microphone crackle…
The real target was Erdoğan… He was described as ‘a totalitarian, a colonialist, an Ottoman Sultan, a cowboy.’
Standing Rapporteur of the European Parliament on Turkey, Amor, met with Cypriot journalists before the vote. This was a privilege secured by Cypriot DIKO member Costas Mavrides through his ‘friendship’ with Amor.
After the answers I received to the questions I asked, I noted the following sentence from him: “Turks believe they are a ‘global power’. They think their military power will open the door to the EU. They are looking for a ‘shortcut’ to join the EU. Yes, Turkey is a regional power, but only 5% of its foreign policy is compatible with the EU.”
Amor’s response to Greek Cypriot journalists’ requests for ‘more pressure on Turkey regarding Cyprus’, which went along the lines of, “This is a report on Turkey. Not a report on Cyprus. I am not an expert on Cyprus either”, did not sit well with them.
Especially his remark, “Greek Cypriot MPs are working like an army. They keep finding me here and there, and pressuring me,” was enough to explain how challenging his job is.
Nevertheless, the report was scientific, academic, based on data, and balanced…
Turkey must examine this report line by line rather than ignoring, or dismissing it altogether.
The EU is Turkey’s fifth largest trade and investment partner. Trade broke records in 2024. They traded 206 billion euros. Trade between the two has increased by 59% over the past five years.
This picture suggests that Turkey should embrace Europe more tightly, as it is the direction to which Turkic states and Arabs are turning, developing common strategies from Vietnam to India.
There is no other place for us, or Turkey to go.
This article was originally published on 13.05.2025
