The effectiveness of the EU’s foreign policy in the Middle East and Eurasia would substantially increase cooperation between the EU and Turkey, as recent months have shown, a lot more joins them then divides them. This close cooperation will however be very difficult, if a reactivation of Turkey’s accession process does not take place at least in part.

In the last twelve months the position and interests of Turkey and the EU concerning foreign policy have become exceptionally close. Towards the end of 2010 Turkey accepted the building of a NATO anti -racket radar aimed at Iran. When the Arab Spring broke out, Turkey despite its initial maneuvering finally backed the democratisation of Arab countries, giving this matter a central place on its international agenda. Ankara was engaged in the military intervention in Libya, it implemented sanctions on Syria and was also instrumental to the uniting of the Syrian opposition.

The best proof of the convergence of interests and values in the sphere of foreign policy between Turkey and the EU was the historical visit of the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Erdogan in Iraq (March 2011) and North Africa (September 2011). During the former Erdogan promoted coexistence between Shias and Sunnis, making unprecedented gestures (the first visit of a Sunni leader to the Shias most holy place). The main massage of the second tour, directed towards the Arab revolutionaries, was the need to build a secular democracy in association with the free market reforms. These actions on Turkey’s behalf show that last year’s dramatic question "who lost Turkey?" and the discussion on the topic of the "axis shift" in Turkey’s foreign policy from the West to the East were a flawed prophecy. The rapprochement of agendas as part of its foreign policy has in the case of Turkey an internal foundation. Despite the deep rooted crisis of the accession process, the support for EU membership has been for some years at a stable level 55-60% for, about 35% against.

Read the rest of this commentary about the evolution of the EU-Turkey relations

* Author is Programme Director "EU Enlargment and Neighbourhood" at demosEUROPA - Centre for European Strategy.

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