Erdogan gloats over Brexit
Islamists hail the result of Britain’s referendum as the beginning of the end for the EU and the Atlantic’s dominance over world affairs.
Its long-term implications aside, Britain’s vote to leave the EU will have little immediate impact on Turkish-EU ties, which were on a downward spiral anyway before this referendum.
The scheduled meeting of Turkish and EU officials in Brussels on June 30 to negotiate financial and budgetary provisions with regard to Ankara’s membership bid does not belie this. Those talks amount to no more that flogging a dead horse for many.
Brexit has nevertheless prompted a lively debate among Turks. The general assumption is that the already difficult road to membership for Turkey is much harder, if not downright impossible, to traverse now.
Metin Munir, a veteran columnist from the internet news portal T24, believes that Brexit has closed the topic of Turkey’s EU membership. “Those who want to leave the EU successfully used the possibility of Turkish membership to scare the people. The same fear exists in other EU countries,” Munir said in his commentary piece on the topic.
