Council of Europe to send fact-finding mission to Turkey and meet with arrested mayors. rm.coe.int/0900001680b4... - ThreadSky

nickashdown.bsky.social • 3 days ago

Council of Europe to send fact-finding mission to Turkey and meet with arrested mayors.

https://rm.coe.int/0900001680b4f835

Comments

nickashdown.bsky.social•3 days ago

Meanwhile, European governments and political groups have actually issued quite strong statements condemning Ankara's clampdown on protestors (the S&D even published a video of European mayors expressing support), but EU institutions' statements have been tepid.

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-faces-balancing-act-over-turkey-ties/a-72034789

nickashdown.bsky.social•3 days ago

I'd really like to read a realistic assessment of what the EU can actually do vis a vis Turkey. Threaten sanctions? Shun Erdoğan and other Turkish officials for a while? Stronger statements? Everything I've read so far seems vague and/or to not acknowledge the impossible position Brussels is in.

cultofconfidence.bsky.social•3 days ago

They could offer Turks freedom of work/movement in the EU, that would cause more damage to Erdoğan than anything else. Of course that's never going to happen for the same reason Turkey was never seriously a EU candidate.

nickashdown.bsky.social•3 days ago

They offered that in the past, but tied it to four sets of criteria that Turkey didn't meet. I think those general criteria have been standard for all countries being offered visa liberalization. There's certainly Islamophobia, but then again they granted visa-free travel to Bosnia & Albania in 2010

nickashdown.bsky.social•3 days ago

The EU is in a series of existential crises right now, as their security guarantor becomes an opponent, the defence of Ukraine increasingly falls to them alone, and they face possible (likely?) Russian attack or invasion within five years. Of course they need Turkey on side.

nickashdown.bsky.social•3 days ago

The constant statements of concern from the institutions are frustrating, and Turkey is technically still a candidate country (if not in practice), but so is Ukraine. The idea that democracies should never work with autocracies seems naive to me. This is war (the hybrid war is already well underway)

stevenhseggie.bsky.social•3 days ago

As long as refugees are in Turkey and not the Aegean and as long as Russia is a threat, the EU and its members won’t do much beyond statements.

nickashdown.bsky.social•3 days ago

And if they did, the more nationalist segments of the opposition would say "fuck off, stop interfering in our affairs," and Erdoğan would say "See, I told you these terrorists are controlled by the West."

nickashdown.bsky.social•3 days ago

Unreal the disinformation people are stewing in.

https://bsky.app/profile/vibingvalerie.bsky.social/post/3lldwxa6tzc2z

wendellborton.bsky.social•3 days ago

“With your puny little girly man army, ja?”

nickashdown.bsky.social•3 days ago

The EU literally just put out a defence white paper premised on the idea Russia is ready to attack by 2030.

"Europe faces an acute and growing threat...In 2025, Russia is
expected to surpass Member States’ defence spending in purchasing power parity terms."

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/white-paper-for-european-defence-readiness-2030_en

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