Turkey wants to start a fresh chapter with EU despite obstacles

European Union leaders continue to warn of sanctions against Turkey if Ankara continues exploring for gas and oil in contested waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 10 May 2021
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Turkey wants to start a fresh chapter with EU despite obstacles

  • Erosion of liberties, disputes with Cyprus and Greece mean membership still some way off

ANKARA: Since the approval of its candidacy to EU membership in 1999, Turkish relations with Brussels have been strained, exacerbated by Turkey’s controversial moves in the eastern Mediterranean and concerns over its ongoing democratic issues.

Now, though, Turkey wants to begin a new era with the EU, despite recent diplomatic gaffes, such as the Sofagate crisis, when Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, was not given a seat next to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during her high-profile visit to Ankara.
“Turkey keeps its determined stance and efforts toward its strategic goal of EU membership, despite the double standards and obstacles it faces,” Erdogan said in a statement on May 9, celebrated across the bloc as Europe Day. “Turkey’s membership will pave the way for the rise of a Europe that is more effective at regional and global levels, giving hope not only to its citizens, but also to the people of its neighborhood as well as the whole world.”
Some EU member states, especially Greece, France and Cyprus, continue to halt accession negotiations with Turkey, citing the country’s eroding democracy, human rights issues and the rule of law at home. The nonimplementation of European Court of Human Rights’ rulings by Ankara has also drawn anger from Brussels.
Dr. Ilke Toygur, CATS fellow at German think tank SWP Berlin, said that it is important to be realistic over Turkey’s prospects of joining the EU.
“After months of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, 2021 has (seen) a positive spin Turkey-EU relations. This positive agenda is, however, centered on fruitful cooperation rather than advancing Turkey’s accession negotiations,” she told Arab News.
Ankara is seeking an update to the 2016 refugee deal that obliges Turkey to stem the tide of people seeking to reach Europe from its shores in return for financial aid. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson paid a visit to Turkey on Friday for talks about the deal, and to discuss visa liberalization.
The EU offered Turkey €6 billion ($7.1 billion) to help Syrian refugees, but only €3.6 billion have been sent so far — a point of contention for Ankara. However, the deal was criticized by some EU member states, who claimed Turkey had used millions of Syrian refugees as leverage against Brussels to extract more money.

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Some EU member states, especially Greece, France and Cyprus, continue to halt accession negotiations with Turkey, citing the country’s eroding democracy, human rights issues and the rule of law at home. The non-implementation of European Court of Human Rights’ rulings by Ankara has also drawn anger from Brussels.

In February 2020, Turkey allowed thousands of migrants gathered on the border with Greece to make their way toward Europe.  
Turkey’s negotiations to join the EU began in 2015, but the unresolved Cyprus conflict has always been a barrier to progress, while EU leaders continue to warn of sanctions against Turkey if the country continues exploring for gas and oil in contested waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus.
Ankara’s EU candidacy should be formally suspended if Turkey continues on its “autocratic track,” EU lawmakers at the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee stated on April 23, adding that the country no longer fulfilled the democratic criteria to be accepted as a candidate, let alone a full member, to the EU.
However, Turkey remains dependent on trade with the bloc. Exports to EU member states surged by 35 percent and reached $26.86 billion in the first four months of 2021. Ankara also expects the expansion of the EU-Turkey Customs Union to new sectors of its economy, like services and agricultural trade.
Toygur thinks the EU would like to work on existing trade issues and pave the way for Customs Union modernization; however, the process itself would require an official mandate and a lot of good will from both sides to settle issues of contention.
“High level of dialogue in older files, such as transport, economy or energy, as well as new files (such as) global health or climate change, are also concrete proposals on the table,” she said.
The German Marshall Fund’s latest public opinion survey “Turkish Perceptions of the European Union” revealed, however, that half of Turkish young people think the EU does not intend to let the country join the bloc.
Despite this, Turkish public opinion favors the EU as the closest partner in dealing with international matters, while this trend seems stronger in people aged 18-24 compared to the general population. 68.8 percent of Turkish young people said they would vote “yes” in any referendum on EU membership.


At least 58 corpses found in Libyan hospital, ministry says

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At least 58 corpses found in Libyan hospital, ministry says

  • The corpses found on Monday are the second set of unidentified remains discovered in recent days

TRIPOLI: At least 58 unidentified corpses were found on Monday in a hospital in Tripoli that was under the control of a militia whose leader was killed last week, the interior ministry said.
The corpses were found in a morgue refrigerator in Abu Salim Accidents Hospital in the densely populated Abu Salim neighborhood, following a report from the hospital, the ministry said in a statement.
Pictures of corpses with numbers and censored faces were posted by the ministry, showing remains in various states of decomposition on steel carriers and beds. Some of the remains were burnt. An investigation was underway to establish the identities of the deceased.
“So far, 23 corpses have been examined, and all necessary legal procedures have been taken, including documenting data and collecting samples,” the ministry said.
Abu Salim was home to a militia known as the Stabilization Support Apparatus, whose chief, Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, was killed in unconfirmed circumstances last Monday.
Kikli’s killing led to the sudden defeat of the SSA by factions aligned to internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
On Tuesday, Dbeibah ordered armed groups to be dismantled, triggering the fiercest clashes Tripoli had seen in years between two armed groups. The clashes killed at least eight civilians, according to the United Nations.
The corpses found on Monday are the second set of unidentified remains discovered in recent days. On Saturday, officials said nine corpses had been found in a morgue refrigerator in Al-Khadra hospital, another SSA-controlled hospital in the Abu Salim neighborhood.
The militia had not reported the corpses to the relevant authorities, the interior ministry said.
Dbeibah said on Saturday that eliminating militias was an “ongoing project,” as a ceasefire after last week’s clashes remained in place.
The GNU posted a video on Monday showing bulldozers demolishing the so-called 77 camp, one of the biggest facilities that was under control of SSA. The camp is to be turned into a national park.
Libya has had little stability since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020.


Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

Updated 20 May 2025
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Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hit back at condemnation of his country’s military offensive in Gaza by the leaders of France, Canada and Britain saying they had given a “huge prize” to Hamas.
“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities,” Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to the October 2023 attack that set off the Gaza war.


Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

Updated 20 May 2025
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Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

HELSINKI: An East Jerusalem hospital chief told AFP on Monday that Gaza was in a “catastrophic” state after weeks of a complete blockade of humanitarian aid and called on countries to act to end the suffering of civilians.
Fadi Atrash, chief executive of the Augusta Victoria-Hospital in East Jerusalem — which helps Palestinians from the occupied territories and Gaza — said he could no longer “find the words” to describe the crisis faced by people in war-torn Gaza.
“We are facing a very, very critical and catastrophic situation,” he said, with all components of the health care system destroyed, and health care workers “running out of energy.”
Augusta Victoria, which had a hospital in Gaza that has been destroyed in Israeli bombings now provides health care in Gaza with the limited resources available, Atrash said.
Atrash visited Finland — which has not recognized Palestine as a state — on Monday as part of a tour of the Nordic countries.
“My main message for the Nordic countries is to put pressure to stop the war, to stop the killing.”
Humanitarian food, medical and fuel supplies have been blocked from entering Gaza for 11 weeks, and the World Health Organization has warned that two million people face starvation.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb joined other European leaders on Monday to call on Israel to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Stubb also said “forced displacement of populations is a war crime and cannot form part of any solution,” in a post on X.
Israel this month approved an expanded military offensive in Gaza but has agreed to let limited aid into Gaza.


Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

Updated 20 May 2025
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Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

GAZA CITY: A Gaza civil defense official said that 91 people were killed in strikes and attacks throughout Monday as Israel steps up an offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The deaths had been recorded since the early hours of Monday, according to Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official in the civil defense agency of the Hamas-run territory. The department had earlier given a toll of 52 dead.


Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

Updated 20 May 2025
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Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis said Monday that they would target Haifa port in Israel as part of a “naval blockade” in response to Israeli escalation in the Gaza war.
The Houthis would “begin working to enforce a naval blockade of the port of Haifa,” said military spokesman Yehya Saree.
“All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the target bank,” the Houthi spokesman added.
The move was “in response to the Israeli enemy’s escalation of its brutal aggression against our people and in Gaza,” he said, adding their attacks on Israel would “cease once the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will “take control” of the whole of Gaza, as rescuers reported dozens killed in a newly intensified offensive.