A copy paste crisis like the one caused by the Tayyip Erdoğan in the spring of 2020 in Evros, the other authoritarian and undemocratic on the borders of Europe, the Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus. What's he doing?; Instrumentalising the migration issue sending countless unfortunate refugees to the Polish border. Target here too, a crude blackmail. The EU should lift the sanctions imposed on the Minsk regime, otherwise Lukashenko will flood Europe with refugees and migrants.
Going back a little bit, Angela Merkel recently visited Turkey for the last time as Chancellor. From the terrace of the Ueber resort, Erdogan and Merkel saw the view of the Bosphorus and greeted people. Merkel in her 16 years as chancellor had particularly good relations with Erdogan and even praised Turkey's role in the refugee issue. Unfortunately Merkel's pro-Turkish policy allowed Erdogan to blackmail the EU and is now outdated. Berlin, for its own interests, is giving the Turkish president the impression that the whole of Europe depends on him. The truth is that Turkey needs Germany and the EU more than the other way round... The new Berlin government should change Merkel's fearful attitude and make it clear to Erdogan that, yes, he is interested in cooperating with him on migration policy, but there can only be continuity in close economic relations when he gives up blackmail and provocations. And now to stop the hypocritical attitude with the sale of new weapons as it should depend on the abandonment of violence in Erdogan's policy towards the Kurds as well as in his war cries against Greece.
In Berlin and Brussels can no longer sit back and watch and to link without pretexts Lukashenko's policy of instrumentalising migrants with exactly the same thing that Erdogan is doing in the Aegean. This is the truth and Berlin should accept it and not try to avoid annoying Erdogan.
He can't, the Acting Foreign Minister of Germany, Heiko Maas declaring from Berlin that his country is in favour of imposing new EU sanctions against Belarus on the very same issue. Accusing the Belarusian President Lukashenko of exploiting thousands of migrants, whom he is pushing across the border with Poland, with language hard : «We will sanction all those involved in the targeted trafficking of migrants. Lukashenko must realize that his calculations will have no effect. He is creating a dangerous situation from which there is no way out for him. No one should be allowed to participate in Lukashenko's inhumane actions with impunity,» concluding, «As the EU we are ready to guarantee that there will be consequences.».
Will our German friends explain to us how they can caress Erdogan and avoid like the devil avoids the word «incense» penalties and do the exact opposite and push in that direction of their enforcement for Lukashenko. On the one hand to push and on the other hand to do everything they can to prevent any kind of sanction for the very same policy when Turkey is pursuing it? But also to reward the «sultan' with billions of euros.
Because for Berlin, Lukashenko is causing a crisis and destabilisation in Europe, while Erdogan is not an enemy but a valuable friend, as Mrs Merkel said. The interests are the ones that force Berlin to... blame Lukashenko and caress Erdogan for the same policy and spend European billions.
Germany is doing its job and serves the interests of the, what do we do with her extreme hypocrisy? One, however, he has to call a spade a spade, because Berlin constantly undermines Europe's common stance on important issues in order to serve its national policy at the expense of the European Union. And in the end who is the one instrumentalising a number of issues such as the economic crisis, climate change and refugees to serve its own interests?; Did Germany?; And in the end the bill is paid by the...suckers!
Nikos Panagiotopoulos
