New hopes and fears for Turkey as Ankara mulls improving ties with the EU

Tabnak – Since the failed July 2016 coup in Turkey and following the Turkish government’s crackdown on civil society over alleged links with the plot, Ankara’s ties with the western countries started to turn sour. Now, it seems that Turkey has started a new attempt to initiate a new opening with Europe.

Turkish media reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will meet with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel in an attempt to enhance the bilateral ties, which strained following a July 2016 abortive coup in Turkey.

Gabriel will host Cavusoglu for talks in his hometown of Goslar in central Germany around 1000 GMT on Saturday, according to press statements. The German foreign minister invited his Turkish counterpart after the two met in November last year in Cavusoglu’s southern home region of Antalya.

Meanwhile, in a commentary for Germany’s Funke Media Group of newspapers on Friday, Cavusoglu said “Both sides have an interest in a new start in the bilateral relationship as we live in a time full of challenges,” and that, “It is not the time for bullhorn diplomacy.”

Underlining Turkey’s desire to mend fences with Germany, Cavusoglu said the improvement of Berlin-Ankara ties would allow the two NATO partners to work more closely in areas such as security and trade.

In another development regarding Turkey-EU relations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he is “seriously tired” of waiting for the European Union to decide whether to accept his country as a member of the bloc.

The Turkish leader made the comments during a joint press conference with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday, making it plain that Ankara would not wait forever.

However, Macron said there was no chance of Turkey's membership bid moving forward. “I'd be lying if I said we could open new chapters,” he said in reference to the accession process. He added that EU needs to "rethink" the accession process and focus on a possible "partnership” or "cooperation" with Turkey.

A number of EU member states has condemned the Turkish government's arrests and purges of tens of thousands of people after a failed coup attempt in July 2016. Local and international rights groups have accused Ankara of using the putsch bid as a pretext to silence opposition in the country.

The government has said the purges and detentions are aimed at removing from state institutions and other parts of society the supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based, self-exiled religious leader blamed by Ankara for the attempted coup. However, the issue is obviously continuing to affect Ankara’s ties with the west, including its NATO partners.