When the phone rang, Erdoğan was breaking bread at Dolmabahçe Palace in İstanbul with Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, who was on a working visit to Turkey. Considering that it would not be polite to talk to Papandreou while meeting with another prime minister, Erdoğan put the call on speakerphone. Both prime ministers congratulated the new Greek government leader together right there on the spot.
By mere coincidence or a great design, a call bringing these three prime ministers together over speakerphone recalls the memory of how Finland and Greece were key players in the Helsinki summit in 1999 when Turkey was officially made a European Union candidate country, giving renewed dynamism and clear direction in Turkey-EU relations. Many regard Helsinki today as the crucial moment in our relations with the bloc and calls are now being made to revitalize the Helsinki spirit.
I believe Turkey has much to hope for from Papandreou’s new government in fostering relations between the two countries. If you leave aside much of the rhetoric on Cyprus, which is very much oriented for domestic political consumption, signs are there that the new Greek leader wants to put relations into a higher gear.
Earlier this month, he made his first foreign visit to Turkey to attend an informal meeting of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in İstanbul, hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.
To the surprise of many, he made a grand gesture during his trip and paid tribute to an old friend. Papandreou visited the grave of the late İsmail Cem, a former Turkish foreign minister with whom Papandreou had initiated confidence-building measures to mend ties between the two rival countries. The two countries came to one another’s assistance in devastating earthquakes that struck first İstanbul and then Athens a month later in 1999.
Egemen Bağıs, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, is set to visit Greece on Nov. 5, where he will deliver a speech hosted by the International Center for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS), a Greek think tank. The topic of the speech will be Turkey’s EU membership and a stronger EU.
I spoke with Bağıs about what he expects from Greece while onboard a plane en route to Helsinki last week. He is confident a new breakthrough may be in the works, now that both governments enjoy a strong mandate from the public and command a majority in their respective parliaments.
Greece openly supports Turkey’s candidacy, and Papandreou reaffirmed this support after coming to power. His government even announced that Turkey should be a full member by 2014. There are talks in Greece that Papandreou is expected to voice his strong support for Turkey’s EU accession process in the upcoming EU summit in December. He rejected the halfway measure of a “privileged partnership” proposed by France and Germany.
I also hear the new Greek leader intends to re-energize now-defunct committees that were established during Papandreou’s first tenure as foreign minister between 1999 and 2004. The committees were established to discuss and resolve issues between Turkey and Greece.
During his visit, Bağıs will have lunch with Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Drucas, who had said on the record that Greece was working on a road map for EU enlargement, envisaging that all southeastern European countries would be admitted to the EU by 2014.
With the new government in place in Athens, there is also a possibility that we may make some progress on Cyprus, as well. The festering dispute on the island has long poisoned relations between Greece and Turkey. It has also hindered Turkey’s bid for EU membership. So far, there has been a noticeable toning down of rhetoric in Greek Cyprus from its leader.
Year-long talks between Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have so far produced little real progress. With the election coming up in the north, where Talat may be defeated, the chance of reuniting the island may be lost forever. It is too late now, but the EU realizes it made a mistake by admitting Greek Cyprus without first resolving outstanding differences between the north and the south and hence lost great leverage.
Understandably, the first priority of the Greek government is to tackle the battered economy, a result of the global economic crisis. Increasing business ties with Turkey, where 70 million consumers live, may help Greek businesses better deal with slowing demand at home and in the European market, serving another impetus for improved relations with Ankara.
Bağıs believes both Erdoğan and Papandreou are risk takers and courageous leaders. “The timing is right, and we may very well see substantive changes in Turkish-Greek relations soon,” he said. I hope, for the sake of both countries, that he is right.
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