EU the third actor against NATO's trident

Submitted by myth (Germany), Nov 13, 2017 at 06:32

I miss the EU as the third actor in Turkey's relationship with the West. The EU has made many half-hearted offers to Turkey over the years. Each time the EU withdrew with a subtext saying "we have never actually wanted you". As a consequence the EU antagonised Turkey against the entire West. I mean Turkish people regardless of their government.

I think the EU acts in competition to NATO in order to re-arrange Europe's security policies. NATO's trident policy used to be "US in, Germany down, Russia out". The EU turns this on its head.

As I look back at what is called the "refugee crisis" I still wonder why this was handled as a EU-matter in the first place. Refugees entering the non-EU country Turkey did not warrant a EU response. This required a NATO response. To me this is all about securing a NATO border in a non-EU country or on international waters. From a practical standpoint given the high number of people trying to enter NATO-terrority a military defensive operation as the only measure on the appropriate scale.

My very own government cut shabby deals with Erdoğan only to see its citizens arrested inside Turkey.
Obviously noone on the European continent can stand up against Germany as the most powerful country.

This requires a US response through NATO. It is time to tell the EU through Germany that Angela Merkel is not to make decisions on a strategic level with respect to NATO. Likewise NATO should instruct Turkey not to enter strategic cooperations with Russia, Iran, China. The combined message is this: if Turkey becomes a trustworthy NATO ally again it will never be bullied by EU governments.

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