A retired French admiral, Jean Dufourq, now affiliated with NATO's Defense College in Italy, attended an EU-sponsored seminar in June 2006 examining what Türkiye would contribute to European security as a potential member state. At the event, he argued that the size of Türkiye's armed forces carried no particular weight for the EU.
Turkish participants pushed back, arguing that Türkiye's strategic value extends well beyond troop numbers into political, economic, socio-cultural, and psychological dimensions. Retired Gen. Edip Baser outlined Türkiye's priorities, including consistency, coordination, and dialogue with neighboring and allied nations. Foreign Ministry first secretary Aydan Karamanoglu detailed Türkiye's contributions to the European Security and Defense Policy and cited EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana's own remarks on Türkiye's importance.
Some attendees acknowledged that misunderstandings run in both directions. One retired Turkish commander suggested the country should examine its own shortcomings in explaining itself abroad. Columnist M. Ali Kislali, writing in Radikal, concluded that Türkiye needs a stronger effort to communicate its full strategic value to EU member states, rather than treating skeptical voices simply as uninformed.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in June 2006, in its own words.