Erdogan’s attack could backfire

A photo of Macron near Hebron, set on fire by students.

Abed Al Hashlamoun / EPA

For the Dutch it is a déjà vu. Three years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called them “descendants of the Nazis”. The background for this was the expulsion of a Turkish minister who wanted to publicize Turkey’s controversial presidential system in the Netherlands. At that time Germany also got fat and had to listen to the practice of “Nazi methods” because Erdogan’s confidants were prevented from appearing in the electoral campaign.

Meanwhile, the Turkish head of state has again heated up his Nazi accusations, but now he has the entire continent in sight. In the course of an anti-Western campaign aimed at diverting attention from the poor economic situation of his own country, Erdogan has taken the latest Islamic statements by French President Emmanuel Macron as an opportunity to distribute not only against alleged Islamophobic France, but against all of Europe.

Untold Nazi comparisons

The EU heads of government, Polterer called his supporters in Ankara this week, were “links in the chain of the National Socialists” and “like a plague” hostility towards Islam and Muslims is spreading throughout. the continent. Erdogan found that this “lynching campaign” was actually comparable only to the persecution of Jews before the Second World War.

Since then, reactions from Europeans have been unanimous. Erdogan’s words were “unacceptable,” the tweeted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. His country is unreservedly behind France and the “collective values ​​of the EU”. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also had “full solidarity” with Macron, and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa wrote on Twitter that they jointly defend fundamental freedoms in France and the European model of tolerance.

Germany, which has so far tried to moderate the conflict with Turkey, has also tightened its tone. The attacks by the Turkish president are “a new low,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. In the fight against Islamic extremists, they are “in solidarity with France” and also have “a great understanding” for the withdrawal of the French ambassador from Ankara.

Could Erdogan have crossed the curve this time? At their last summit four weeks ago, EU states had unsuccessfully warned Ankara of new foreign policy provocations. Due to its actions in the eastern Mediterranean, Libya, Syria and the Caucasus, Turkey is at odds with several Member States, but especially with France, Greece and Cyprus. With a carrot-and-stick strategy, that is, positive incentives on the one hand and threats of sanctions on the other, Germany hoped to appease its “difficult partner” Erdogan. This strategy has so far proved useless.

Strike against steel exporters?

The EU Commission has indicated that the head of the Turkish government shot himself in the leg calling for a boycott of French products. Such boycott calls are incompatible with the spirit of the bilateral trade agreements Turkey has entered into, a spokesperson for the agency said. These agreements, sanctioned by the association agreement, the customs union and the free trade agreements for agriculture, coal and steel, provide for the free movement of goods. Possible punitive measures against Turkey would then be examined.

Specifically, Brussels wants to examine anti-dumping investigations, for example against Turkish steel exporters, as two EU officials entrusted to the “Politico” news portal. European steel producers have already filed complaints against cheap imports. However, the Commission could also launch investigations into other economic sectors that are important to Turkey.

This is not enough for several Member States. There are voices in particular from Greece and Cyprus calling for a complete suspension of the customs union and an arms embargo against Ankara. Turkey’s major trading partners such as Germany have so far rejected a radical break. An EU diplomat no longer wants to rule out the possibility that Germany, too, could give up its resistance to sanctions if pressure from Paris and other capitals increases.

Brussels correspondent Daniel Steinvorth Twitter consequences.