Will supporting Greece help Turkey join the EU?

Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said during his visit to Ankara that Athens supports Turkey's EU membership bid.

"Greece is in favor of Turkey's accession to the European Union and expects that Turkey will adopt all the legal norms of the EU. Greece wants the EU to recognize Turkey's heritage, as well as to understand and accept Ankara's political will and aspirations," he said.Vestnik Kavkaza asked Turkish experts how such a position of Greece will help its eastern neighbors join the EU.An assistant professor at Kastamonu University, Ahmet Simsek, noted that by taking such a position Greece is thanking Turkey for its help. "For many years Greece could not join NATO and it achieved this goal only after the approval of Turkey. And the statements of the Foreign Minister of Greece should be considered in this way," he said.In addition, Athens understands that Greece will benefit from its eastern neighbor's entry into the EU. "In the coming years the power struggle between major states will only intensify. And while Ankara is in a favorable position, Brussels is interested in close cooperation. After all, in the near future, Turkey will become the main transit country for energy resources from the Caucasus, Central Asia and northern Iraq," he noted.However, he reminded that "many people in Europe think that EU membership is not a top priority for Turkey. "That is, they absolutely do not care whether we enter the EU or not. And this despite the fact that Turkey has done a lot to achieve this goal, including changes to the Constitution. Therefore, today, because of this treatment, it is not eager to enter this organization," Ahmet Simsek concluded.An expert of the Turkish International Center of Strategic Studies, Kamer Kasim, in his turn, noted that "Greece changed its negative attitude towards Turkish membership in the EU long ago." "Today, it believes that Turkey's membership in the EU will help to solve the Cyprus problem, as well as issues related to differences in the Aegean Sea area," the analyst said."We must bear in mind that Europe's demand for gas will grow. And the countries which will host TAP support Turkey's EU membership, as it will be beneficial for them," he explained. However, "some countries, led by France and Germany, oppose the fact that Ankara has leverage in these regions, and for that, as well as for some other reasons, they are opposed to Turkey's membership of the EU," Kamer Kasim complained.

 

"Greece is in favor of Turkey's accession to the European Union and expects that Turkey will adopt all the legal norms of the EU. Greece wants the EU to recognize Turkey's heritage, as well as to understand and accept Ankara's political will and aspirations," he said.

Vestnik Kavkaza asked Turkish experts how such a position of Greece will help its eastern neighbors join the EU.

An assistant professor at Kastamonu University, Ahmet Simsek, noted that by taking such a position Greece is thanking Turkey for its help. "For many years Greece could not join NATO and it achieved this goal only after the approval of Turkey. And the statements of the Foreign Minister of Greece should be considered in this way," he said.

In addition, Athens understands that Greece will benefit from its eastern neighbor's entry into the EU. "In the coming years the power struggle between major states will only intensify. And while Ankara is in a favorable position, Brussels is interested in close cooperation. After all, in the near future, Turkey will become the main transit country for energy resources from the Caucasus, Central Asia and northern Iraq," he noted.

However, he reminded that "many people in Europe think that EU membership is not a top priority for Turkey. "That is, they absolutely do not care whether we enter the EU or not. And this despite the fact that Turkey has done a lot to achieve this goal, including changes to the Constitution. Therefore, today, because of this treatment, it is not eager to enter this organization," Ahmet Simsek concluded.

An expert of the Turkish International Center of Strategic Studies, Kamer Kasim, in his turn, noted that "Greece changed its negative attitude towards Turkish membership in the EU long ago." "Today, it believes that Turkey's membership in the EU will help to solve the Cyprus problem, as well as issues related to differences in the Aegean Sea area," the analyst said.

"We must bear in mind that Europe's demand for gas will grow. And the countries which will host TAP support Turkey's EU membership, as it will be beneficial for them," he explained. However, "some countries, led by France and Germany, oppose the fact that Ankara has leverage in these regions, and for that, as well as for some other reasons, they are opposed to Turkey's membership of the EU," Kamer Kasim complained.