It doesn’t have to be “primarily“ economic to be treated as if it is by the EU. Any expansion is an economic risk but an unstable leader they cannot control, of a population 1/5th of EU is a huge unnacceptable risk.
The main benefit of EU membership is the joining process itself, the EU demanding reforms in exchange for economic support. If human rights violations and a deficiency in the rule of law were the primary reasons, they would want to continue the only process that gives them the influence to make change. Not sure how well known, but Turkey has been a EU candidate since 1999, 23 years before Ukraine reached that status. Obviously there’s great potential economically.
EU membership involves joining the monetary union. Germany’s biggest now century old fear is Turkey’s big problem, inflation. Germany (with it’s in this context sidekick NL and a few others north west) dictates debt and budgetting rules in the EU. Merkel, almost a decade the most powerful woman in the world, de facto leader of europe, also known as the one who held the purse strings, was one of the strongest opponents of Turkey joining. While Germany is, now closely after China, Turkish largest trading partner.
Also Merkel: if the euro fails, Europe [EU] fails. Again, it’s all, almost religiously, about economic stability as a means to keep the peace. Erdogan is stable nor peaceful no controllable.
Now see the contrast with how German and other European leaders talk about Ukraine‘s membership. If Turkey would be under attack by Russia and China EU still wouldn’t talk like that.
That all said, my point wasn’t suggesting an economic downside to Turkey’s membership, the EU market cannot absorb
both Ukraine and Turkey. Given Turkey’s, Ukraine’s (and Zelensky’s) and Russia’s actions in recent times it makes an easier choice against Turkey, who indeed for various good reasons already wasn’t particularly welcome.
As for Cyprus, geographically in Asia, a party island / beach holiday destination where nobody give af about the beaches on turkish side:
Europe is looking for ways to wean itself off Russian gas. But Turkey and Greece can’t agree on how to extract gas from Europe’s own territory.
www.politico.eu
The European Union will decide on Monday to symbolically punish Turkey over what it calls "illegal" drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus and threaten harsher sanctions in the future unless Ankara changes tack, German and Austrian ministers said.
www.reuters.com
Now to point out the start of this little subcontext, the article I posted about EU providing economic support as loans rather than gifts. It’s about control, and I don’t mean that in a sinister way. It’s not like they will actually have to pay anything, it never works like that. If they pay it’ll be in euros, mere numbers on a screen created by EU. It will also make it easier to pump money into rebuilding Ukraine. Like NL adopting Odesa so Rotterdam can own more of it than the Chinese, plans already drawn.
I swear my first reply was much better and more concise
