L’Europa non avrà credibilità finché Cipro non sarà risolta

While hypocrisy erodes European diplomacy, the broader problem is European impotence. Here, the problem is not only military weakness but also diplomatic and political ineffectiveness. Take the EU’s refusal to meaningfully address Turkey’s six-decade-long occupation of sovereign Cyprus, which is EU territory. Every day Cypriots are forced to look at the giant Turkish occupation flag on Mount Pentadaktylos is a day every European should feel humiliated.

Turkey occupied Cyprus in 1974 not to protect that country’s Muslim minority, but as a naked land grab. After all, the major invasion came after the Greek junta fell, and Turkey and Greece were in peace talks. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes time will launder Turkish sins, and European diplomats affirm this strategy. Certainly, the Cyprus problem is difficult, but sidestepping it simply shows European states are not up to the challenge and are always willing to put subordinate ease to principle.

If Europe were serious, there should not be a single visa issued to a Turk, a Turkish Airlines flight overflying, let alone landing in Europe, and sanctions on every member of the Turkish armed forces. Brussels would react to Turkish threats to unleash refugees into Europe with threats to return every Turkish migrant and an end to the remittances they provide Turkey.