Istanbul, May 2016. Michael Kappeler/Press Association. All rights reserved.Turkey will rush to the polls on 16 April 2017 under the extended state of emergency measures to vote for the 18-point constitutional amendment. If approved by a simple majority, the amendments will replace the current parliamentary system with an uncontrolled executive presidentialism giving the elected president powers to appoint and dismiss vice-presidents and ministers, issue executive decrees, control the budget, and appoint the members of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors. The reform is designed to allow the current President Erdogan to stay in power until 2029.
The constitutional vote has even triggered a series of diplomatic crises with Germany and Netherlands over the plans of the AKP to campaign in cities with considerable Turkish immigrant populations. Following the German Constitutional Court’s decision and the Austrian Chancellor’s call for an EU-wide ban on the appearances of Turkish politicians in Europe, the row deepened when the Dutch government recently deported the minister of family affairs. The crisis escalated as Erdogan called German and Dutch politicians Nazi remnants and fascists , promising retaliation. Other European governments may join Germany and Netherlands in the coming weeks.
Recent reactions from the some member states may seem like the EU is finally awakening to the reality of Turkey after a long period of appeasement. Yet, a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and some EU countries was hardly surprising given no shortage of earlier instances of brash Turkish governmental rebuke and undiplomatic rhetoric. However, it is wrong to assume that all EU states and institutions share the same opinion on relations with Turkey or that such political rows will help the EU build an efficient response to Turkey’s authoritarian turn.
