BY MEHMET ALI BIRAND
MILLIYET- From news coverage of Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Brussels early this week, I got a very negative impression.
The impression was of Erdogan pushing the Gaza issue rather than Turkish-European Union relations, praising Hamas and harshly criticizing Europeans.
Wondering what had happened, I asked officials who attended the talks: What kind of impression did you get from Erdogan? Did he allay your doubts? Did he argue for Hamas?
Their answers were quite different from the media reports.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said: 'If all visits like this produced such a boost in Turkish-EU relations, Erdogan should come here more often.'
The EU Commission stated that Hamas and the Gaza issue didn't dominate the talks, as the main topic was bilateral relations. An official said, 'Erdogan touched on the issue during his speech at a non-governmental organization meeting on the first day of his visit, but later didn't bring it up.' He added, 'Erdogan came here to convince the Commission and European Parliament, and he succeeded. In other words, he showed that Ankara hasn't suspended or given up its EU bid, and the recent slowdown has ended, and he satisfied the Commission. Now the premier's decision on the Nabucco venture is expected and whether or not any development on chapters is anticipated. That is to say, we see the visit as fruitful and ushering in a new era.'
All observers in Brussels made a common point: Russia's cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine increased Europe's willingness to diversify its energy supplies, and Turkey is seen as important for this. Its star is rising. Ankara should make good use of this opportunity.
Whether or not it does, will be evident during technical negotiations in Brussels in the coming days.
If Turkey says, 'If you convince the Greek Cypriots and ensure the opening of the energy chapter, then Ankara will welcomes Nabucco' - in other words, if Ankara tries to horse trade or blackmail - then the situation will be changed.
One EU Commission official said; 'We see the Greek Cypriot veto as needless. But if Turkey makes it an explicit condition, we can't do it. Let us solve it,' and added that if Ankara signs onto Nabucco and two chapters opening, a brand new era can begin.
In a nutshell, the premier announced his intentions. Now let's see whether concrete steps will be taken to revive this policy.