One big family?
The interview with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan broadcast on state television on Wednesday reminded us that there is an issue known as «Euro-Turkish relations» which, despite being at the top of the daily agenda of the country’s political parties, is being hushed up by the Greek political system. Erdogan expressed the warmest of sentiments toward the Greek people, and it would be in poor taste for us to doubt his assertions, but actions are the only thing that have any significance on the political level. In other words, the European Commission’s positive report regarding Turkey’s aspirations to join the EU does not appear to have influenced the activities of the Turkish air force in the Aegean, and it is quite clear that there is not going to be any major change in this area. From the moment one realizes that Turkey’s behavior on the tactical level remains unaltered, and that there has been no shift in its strategy as regards «gray zones» in the Aegean, one asks oneself what is the practical significance of Erdogan’s claim to be «as one big family with Costas Karamanlis.» Nobody expected Turkey to alter fundamental policies purely because it is to secure a date for the launch of accession talks in December. But Mr Erdogan does not appear to bear in mind that Cyprus is an EU member state, upon whose consent Turkey’s future in Europe partially depends…
