The project brings Turkish journalists and academics together with their European colleagues in various European cities. Previously, similar gatherings were held in Madrid, London, Berlin and Brussels.
With a group of our journalist friends, we met up with French journalists in Paris.
Undersecretary of the Ministry for EU Affairs Selim Yenel also attended the meeting. In his opening speech, he reminded us of the three headings on the Turkey-EU agenda: Membership negotiations, customs union and visa liberalization.
He spoke on the questions concentrated under these three headings.
Habertürk daily Editor-in-Chief Selçuk Tepeli was our moderator. In the opening of the meeting, Tepeli said, “We are here to form empathy.” Undersecretary Yenel made an addition to the idea of forming empathy and said, “Our general attitude should not be to empathize but to expect mutual understanding.”
Tepeli’s statement: “We think that a Europe without Turkey in its representation cannot be an integrated Europe,” was probably one of the meeting’s most hard-hitting statements.
I would like to share with you my short notes from the meeting that continued with everybody taking turns to speak. A French journalist spoke early in the meeting and without mentioning his name, directly brought the topic to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “You have to be cruel to be kind. Some politicians made cliché statements during their election campaigns. For example, one politician ascribed Nazism to Germany.”
It was Orhan Sali from A Haber who responded to him. “After our president made the Nazi statement, Germany went to elections and a Nazi party entered parliament.”
Okan Müderrisoğlu from Sabah newspaper added to Sali’s statement: “I can’t understand why you are so stuck on the Nazi discourse. The statement made by President Erdoğan was not a Nazi ascription for Merkel. It was an ascription in reference to the practices implemented on Turkish citizens living in Germany.”
French journalist Antonie Colonia tried to find a middle way by saying, “We have a common history. We need to understand each other. Because we come from different civilizations. We have different cultural codes.”
Professor Kerem Alkin from Sabah made the following evaluation: “A taxi driver in Milano said, ‘This Germany is killing us. Merkel is a Nazi.’ Even an Italian taxi driver had a problem with Germany’s practices. Turkey needs some empathy in such an atmosphere. We are especially upset, angry that Turkey did not receive sufficient empathy after the July 15 coup attempt.”
As for CNN’s Paris representative Arzu Çakır, she made an evaluation on the problems within the EU itself and said, “The current problem is not Turkey alone. The EU is going through an extremely intense period. When you look around Europe, it has problems deeper than Turkey. Macron is playing for European leadership. He wants to see the U.K. and Turkey in the second or third Europe office.” She made an emphasis on the competition between Germany and France.
The most heated section of the meeting was when Daily Sabah’s Meryem İlayda Atlas spoke. Atlas emphasized extremisms. She pointed to how, because of Islamophobia, millions of Muslims everyday are made to say “Sorry” after many incidents they are not responsible for.
Atlas said; “You say sorry because you are Muslim... There are Muslims who are always obliged to say sorry. How can we build a common future in such an atmosphere? How is dialogue possible in such an atmosphere where Muslim women are constantly portrayed as migrants and bad?”
TRT News Department head Yaşar Taşkın Koç pointed to there being both positive and negative points in both the past and present of the EU and Turkey and said, “However, the goal of us Turks has always been the West.”
I also took the floor and said: “The Turks’ red apple is the West. We have turned our direction to the West and walked toward it ever since we took off from the moors in Asia. There is benefit in discussing Turkey-Europe relations rather than Turkey-EU relations. Because the EU exists today, but it may not be here tomorrow. However, Europe was here yesterday and will continue to exist today and tomorrow. Turkey was here yesterday and will continue to exist today and tomorrow. Therefore, relations should not be limited to the EU. Also, do not ever forget, even if you look at Ottoman era maps, you will see; in maps showing Ottoman borders in Europe, European Turkey is written. Keeping these facts in mind, let us accept that Turkey is a native of Europe.”
Most of the talks in the meeting were on the mutual future of Turkey and Europe rather than the EU. Because relations between Turkey and the EU are worse in this term. Relations are on a fluctuating path. Especially after seeing the rise in racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia in Europe, it seems difficult for Turkey-EU ties to improve in the near future.
Our last crisis with the EU was July 15, 2016. After the coup attempt in Turkey that night, the “EU did not show sufficient solidarity with us” perception was rightfully formed. In the EU, with the impact of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), a perception that “Turkey overreacted after July 15” was formed and these two perceptions pushed relations into a bottleneck.
There was a mutual lack of understanding. Lack of dialogue was at its highest level.
In the meeting, French journalists were mostly on the listening end. However, at the end of the meeting, they said to our moderator: “It was very beneficial. We had a few prejudices. We have been informed. It has formed good ground to overcome those prejudices.”
I hope they are sincere. I hope our talks lead to a positive transformation in French journalists.
What can we say, Turkey-EU ties are not going to get better soon, however; Turkey’s struggle for democratization, liberation and wealth is going to continue despite everything. Wouldn’t you agree?
