Rapprochement between Turkey and Europe?
Against the backdrop of the row with the US and Turkey's economic problems there are now signs of a rapprochement between the country and the EU. Last week President Erdoğan had phone calls with Macron and Merkel. The leader of Germany's Social Democrats, Andrea Nahles, has also brought up the idea of financial aid to help Turkey cope with its currency crisis. Commentators are unsure what to make of the situation.
Help only after Turkey has changed course
Turkey can only be granted financial support under certain conditions, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung urges:
“Leading politicians, first and foremost the all-powerful president, have gravely insulted Germany; German citizens have been and continue to be imprisoned for specious reasons. The transformation into an authoritarian system custom-made for Erdoğan is based on a financial and monetary policy that is the main reason behind the the lira's drop in value. ... It goes without saying that Germany is duty bound to help a partner that is not itself responsible for its woes. In the case of Turkey, however, whose president is in the habit of picking fights simply to boost his popularity, the help envisaged by Nahles can only be granted if political changes are made.”
Joining forces against Trump
The EU is seeking closer ties to Turkey because it needs it as an ally against the US, Milliyet concludes:
“The last thing the EU needs is more problems such as a new migration crisis on top of the problem of its economy being destabilised by the US sanctions. Therefore it had to tell Turkey frankly all the things that were bothering it. And it did! ... In the event that Trump imposes sanctions on companies that don't adhere to the sanctions it has imposed on Iran, a country like Turkey must not be missing from the alliance that forms against this decision. Joining forces was necessary! They are joining forces with us.”