Europe Must Re-Engage With Turkey Now

Source:Bloomberg Date:23Jul2019

A very thoughtfull and potentially mutually productive idea for EU and Turkey from Bloomberg:  Parameters of re-engagement with a wayward Turkey.

And yet Turkey remains firmly attached to its democratic traditions, as illustrated by the outcome of the local elections this year, where the political opposition made significant gains, taking over the local rule in nine of the 10 largest provinces.

The new Commission should start with the premise that Europe must rapidly demonstrate a sense of strategic initiative and responsibility to re-anchor Turkey at a time when Ankara is increasingly drifting away from its partners in the West. Turkey is now exposed not only to EU strictures but also to U.S. sanctions on account of its recent acquisition of an air and ballistic missile defense system from Russia.