Now that Erdogan has won, what should the EU do?

Now that it seems that the AK party of Erdogan has narrowly won the referendum, what should the EU do about our relationship with Turkey or should we act like nothing happened?

The EU should do nothing right now... Turkey knows the conditions that are required to become a member of the EU. It is just bad for Turkey that they are moving further and further a way from those conditions.

Now if Turkey under the Erdogan dictatorship starts to "flex its muscles", then this has to have consequences, both when it comes to its relationship to the EU, but also its membership of NATO. That sadly will push Turkey towards Russia, but guessing that was the plan all along.

Peter King said:

Now that it seems that the AK party of Erdogan has narrowly won the referendum, what should the EU do about our relationship with Turkey or should we act like nothing happened?

Click to expand...

I hit the wrong button. Let's wait and see the OSCE report on fairness of the vote. Before that? Best the EU keep quiet.

Peter King said:

Now that it seems that the AK party of Erdogan has narrowly won the referendum, what should the EU do about our relationship with Turkey or should we act like nothing happened?

Click to expand...

Actually nothing has happened. The affirmative referendum (if confirmed) is giving him the powers he's already exercising under martial law and would continue to exercise indefinitely in case of a no vote.

PeteEU said:

The EU should do nothing right now... Turkey knows the conditions that are required to become a member of the EU. It is just bad for Turkey that they are moving further and further a way from those conditions.

Now if Turkey under the Erdogan dictatorship starts to "flex its muscles", then this has to have consequences, both when it comes to its relationship to the EU, but also its membership of NATO. That sadly will push Turkey towards Russia, but guessing that was the plan all along.

Click to expand...

It is an interesting conundrum. What does one do with an autocrat protecting your gates? Mrs Merkel has been travelling North Africa courting dictators and autocrats to help the EU and asking for more business in Peking, where the autocrats are certainly very dictatorial. And nobody in the EU was willing to remive Assad. So what does one do?

Peter King said:

Now that it seems that the AK party of Erdogan has narrowly won the referendum, what should the EU do about our relationship with Turkey or should we act like nothing happened?

Click to expand...

To think that this third-world dictatorship really thought it could ever join the EU. Absolutely insane what we've witnessed over the past few years. A relatively modern country backslide into an absolute dictatorship. The middle east was off limits for me in general, but this completely prevents me from ever entering that country for any reason.

PeteEU said:

The EU should do nothing right now...

Click to expand...

on the principle that is hasn't been doing anything noteworthy anyway, I concur.

Turkey knows the conditions that are required to become a member of the EU. It is just bad for Turkey that they are moving further and further a way from those conditions.

Click to expand...

Turkey wasn't going to become a EU member even long before Erdogan went ballistic. Simply because the EU would never have accepted her. It's just that nobody (from Brussels to the various respective capitals) said that out loud. In fact most are not saying it even now, only exception I can think of being Austria (may have overlooked anyone else).

Now if Turkey under the Erdogan dictatorship starts to "flex its muscles", then this has to have consequences, both when it comes to its relationship to the EU, but also its membership of NATO.

Click to expand...

Well, apart from already playing the NATO card to put spikes into the EU (refusing EU PMs access to "their" soldiers on NATO bases in Turkey) I don't see much muscle present to be flexed anyway.

That sadly will push Turkey towards Russia, but guessing that was the plan all along.

Click to expand...

Russia can in no way compensate for the EU, should ties cease altogether.

Erdogan's popularity arose from and still rests on economic success at home. That success, while it was pre-eminent, based to a large part on Turkey's relations with the EU.

Meanwhile the economy is already hard hit due to his recent shenanigans precluding foreign investment and affecting trade.

He may be as unpalatable to all of us as hell, but one shouldn't consider him as stupid. He knows that Russia provides no alternative.

What's more, he knows that Turkey will never be allowed into the EU anyway but that hasn't precluded Turkey from profiting in relations.

This is a home game, all the noise created abroad was just to serve home.

Peter King said:

Now that it seems that the AK party of Erdogan has narrowly won the referendum, what should the EU do about our relationship with Turkey or should we act like nothing happened?

Click to expand...

The Turkish fallacy played its part in Brexit; any clear headed person could see their joining the EU was pie in the sky. Unfortunately, it did damage to lacklustre in campaign. Has the EU had a policy thus far? It is very hard to tell and paramount here is the actions, path and intention of Turkey themselves.

gunner said:

The Turkish fallacy played its part in Brexit; any clear headed person could see their joining the EU was pie in the sky. Unfortunately, it did damage to lacklustre in campaign. Has the EU had a policy thus far? It is very hard to tell and paramount here is the actions, path and intention of Turkey themselves.

Click to expand...

Well, the Dutch observer for the EU-Turkey talks, immediately after the vote said that they should suspend/end all talks with Turkey for now.

PeteEU said:

The EU should do nothing right now... Turkey knows the conditions that are required to become a member of the EU. It is just bad for Turkey that they are moving further and further a way from those conditions.

Now if Turkey under the Erdogan dictatorship starts to "flex its muscles", then this has to have consequences, both when it comes to its relationship to the EU, but also its membership of NATO. That sadly will push Turkey towards Russia, but guessing that was the plan all along.

Click to expand...

The EU will never accept Turkey as a member no matter what that country does. Turkey needs to start going its own way instead of pandering to the EU who just laughs behind its back while taking advantage of it.

PoS said:

The EU will never accept Turkey as a member no matter what that country does. Turkey needs to start going its own way instead of pandering to the EU who just laughs behind its back while taking advantage of it.

Click to expand...

The EU has set down conditions for Turkey to start becoming a member. If Turkey met those conditions then she would start the process for becoming a member.

Now saying that, if Turkey started meeting the conditions, then EU members would not have so much animosity towards Turkey as they have now. Things change, but Turkey has a LONG way to meet the conditions and the further they move away, the more animosity in EU countries towards Turkey.

Your poll is quite flawed, Peter. For a start off, many of your options are already operative, such as: EU countries already refuse to extradite to countries "where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment"; it is already possible for Turks to claim political asylum; most EU countries (Schengen included) do not allow visa-free entry to Turkish citizens - it was proposed, but has not yet been imposed.

None of those are options for further hardening of the EU's attitude towards Turkey since they already exist.

I'm betting this is going to become an issue at the next NATO meeting as well, since Turkey is a member.

I voted for the following:

End the refugee agreement, rather allow refugees to come to the EU than pay Fuhrermensch Erdogan his ransom money. If anything the referendum has confirmed that Erdogan is no better than Putin, Trump, Kim, or any other right-wing authoritarian. That being said, it is quite clear that every seemingly-good-willed policy proposal or actuality has a long-term hook and angle designed to benefit Erdogan and his Oligarchs.

A total end to all negotiations with Turkey about joining the EU. Erdogan has made clear he intends to align the Turkish government with the ideology of authoritarians, such as in Russia and North Korea. With the EU already as controversial as it is, Turkey becoming the second-largest EU country with a dictator running it no less would be the final nail in the coffin. Turkey would be the death of the EU.

Decide that Turkey cannot become member if the president remains all-powerful: See above.

Stronger border protection with Turkey, to prevent Erdogan agents from enacting sabotage and/or fanning the flames of social unrest.

No longer allow visa free visits from Turks: see above.

End the special status of Turkey with the EU: see above.

And I also voted for 'other'. I believe sanctions should be imposed on the Erdogan regime for taking over the country, and they should be investigated by the International Criminal Court and/or Interpol, and/or an international probe into the Erdogan regime's role in the coup, which I believe was staged as a false-flag (like the Reichstag Fire) to fallaciously merit such a rampant seizure of power.