The Landscape after Brexit as Seen from Ankara. Will the UK’s Divorce from the European Union Additionally Loosen Tights Between Europe and Turkey and Have an Impact on the Future of the Continent?

Abstract

On 29 March 2017, President of the European Council Donald Tusk received a note from UK Ambassador Tim Barrow. Under the document, the procedure of UK’s leaving of the European Union was initiated.1 Gideon Rachman from “Financial Times” compared Brexit to a divorce, stating that the representative of the British government “granted the divorce papers”, thus beginning a “long (planned for two years) attempt to redefine mutual relations” (Rozpoczyna się Brexit…, 2017). In his announcement for the press, Donald Tusk commented: “There is no reason to pretend that this is a lucky day, both in Brussels and in London […] Most Europeans, including almost a half of British voters, would prefer us to be still together” (Wielka Brytania rozpoczyna…, 2017). The stance of the European Council clearly mirrors the moods caused by the decision on Brexit, which are prevailing among all EU member states. It should be noted, however, that leaving the EU by the Brits not only has an impact on their political situation, but it also determines the actions of states aspiring to become members of the Community. The aim of this paper is to discuss the reasons for Brexit and to present the position of the Turkish government on this issue on the basis of the analysis of press articles and politicians’ speeches. The hypothesis we posed assumes that Brexit meant Turkey losing its most important advocate in the Union. Thus, the future of accession negotiations between Turkey and the European Union has been called into question. One should also wonder to what degree Turkey’s foreign policy priorities, which have already been redefined under the influence of the war in Syria, the battle with ISIS, the immigration crisis and the futile accession process so far, will be affected by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union. Will Turkey choose to follow the so-called Trexit route, giving up its membership in the EU?