On the occasion of the European summit which begins this Thursday, March 25, the Twenty-Seven will announce that they are placing Ankara under surveillance until June, to mark their disapproval in the face of the deterioration of rights and freedoms in Turkey, despite the promises of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Europeans want to normalize relations with Turkey after a year of tensions.
But they will opt for a
"progressive, conditional and reversible" approach
, announced the President of the European Council Charles Michel in his letter of invitation to the European summit.
Read also: Erdogan blows hot and cold with Europe
Due to a new wave of contamination by Covid-19, the meeting on Thursday and Friday is scheduled by videoconference, a formula that does not allow debates.
The discussion on Russia was therefore canceled and turned
into an “information point”
.
Charles Michel will share his latest contacts with President Vladimir Poutine, who denounced the
“conflicting”
position
of the EU with regard to Moscow.
And decisions vis-à-vis Turkey were postponed until June, explained a European diplomat.
The second day of the summit, Friday, will be brief, he said.
The participation of US President Joe Biden at the summit should, however, make it possible to deliver a common message of firmness to the Turkish president.
"It is no secret that we have differences with Turkey,"
said Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his talks Tuesday and Wednesday at NATO.
But Americans and Europeans alike refuse to cut ties with Ankara.
"Turkey is a long-standing and valued ally, which we have a great interest in keeping anchored in NATO"
, recalled Antony Blinken.
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The head of the Italian government Mario Draghi summed up the European position by insisting on
"the importance of avoiding initiatives that divide and the need to respect human rights"
.
The Turkish president's decision to leave the Istanbul convention against gender-based violence, the day after an interview with Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was seen as a snub.
Within days, Erdogan also launched proceedings to ban the pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP and sack the governor of his Central Bank.
This accelerated deterioration of the human rights condition obviously poses a problem for Europe, in particular in the perspective of Turkey's accession to the EU - which Ankara has not renounced.
The latest decisions by the Turkish authorities
"add to the EU's concerns about the decline in fundamental rights and undermine the credibility of the commitment to reform,"
warned EU foreign minister Josep Borrell.
Europeans do not trust the Turkish president because he does not respect his commitments, and they see a lot of opportunism in his declared desire for appeasement, diplomats underline.
“We have observed an absence of negative signals since the beginning of the year, but no one is naive, because several factors explain this behavior: the change of president in the United States, the fragility of the Turkish economy and the consequences of possible European sanctions, ”
a European diplomat told AFP.
“The results are mixed.
We cannot say that Turkey makes it easier for the European Union to engage in the famous positive agenda that we have been talking about.
We are in a waiting position
,
”
commented another senior diplomat.
Read also: Why Erdogan is now softening his tone against Europe
The draft declarations for the summit were discussed until the last moment to find a consensus, because Cyprus and Greece judged that it contained
"too many carrots and not enough stick"
, said a diplomat.
He risks disappointing President Erdogan, who said he
"expected concrete results"
in response to his desire for normalization of relations with the EU.
"Increased vigilance will be observed during the coming months to determine in June if the conditions are met to resume,"
said the diplomat.
“If a setback is observed, the EU will be able to defend its interests.
The instruments are ready, ”
he assured.
Josep Borrell's report cites several options, including sanctions for the tourism sector.