Understanding EU-NATO Cooperation: How Member-States Matter by Nele Marianne Ewers-Peters

Author:Nele Marianne Ewers-Peters [Ewers-Peters, Nele Marianne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Intergovernmental Organizations, Diplomacy, Europe, Political Science, History, Security (National & International), General
ISBN: 9780367771591
Google: ej1NEAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 58589454
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

The enduring problem of the Cyprus–Greece–Turkey triangle

Developments in the EU–NATO relationship have been profoundly hallmarked by the tensions between Cyprus, Greece and Turkey as the so-called Cyprus issue, which has been named as the biggest and most difficult political obstacle for the EU–NATO relationship, especially for institutionalising cooperation and exchanging information (EU Officials 3, 4; NATO Officials 1, 2). Three distinctive implications stem from these tensions for the development of the EU–NATO relationship: (1) the double veto on membership, (2) the impact on security exchanges and (3) Turkey’s tensions with the EU and its member states.

Among these three states, only Greece is a multiple member state as it joined NATO in 1952 and the EU in 1981. Turkey joined NATO in the same year and gained official EU candidate status in 2005 but had already been an associate member state of the WEU since 1992. Accession talks with the EU have been partially stalled due to tensions, however. Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 and does not maintain formalised relations with the Alliance. Although both Greece and Turkey cannot be labelled as original members, they are seen as old members which have been involved in the institutional evolutions of these organisations and have therefore been able to exert influence on the early developments of the EU–NATO relationship. With the Cypriote accession to the EU as well as Turkey’s quest to become a regional power in the Mediterranean Sea, bilateral relations and policy preferences have changed and tensions increased, which ultimately affected the evolution of EU–NATO cooperation.

Greece and Turkey have both struggled for regional influence due to their conflictual neighbourhood in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea as well as their proximity to the Middle East, but took different approaches while pursuing parallel objectives1. The Turkish invasion of the Cypriot island in 1974 has not only spurred new tensions between the two countries but also affected their behaviour in international organisations and the dynamics in interorganisational interactions (Binder 2012; Larrabee 2012). In the early phases of rapprochement, neither Greece nor Turkey actively opposed the furthering of EU–NATO cooperation. Both valued the importance of their memberships and perceive the EU and NATO as essential international platforms to counterbalance each other (Tsakonas 2008; Tsakonas and Tournikiotis 2003). Especially with the improvement of their bilateral relationship in 1999, which was triggered by the events after the Ocalan affair and the so-called ‘earthquake diplomacy’ between their governments (Larrabee 2012: 473), Greece lifted its veto on Turkey’s bid for accession to the EU and even strongly supported its candidacy. It saw a Europeanised Turkey beneficial for its own security interests and vice versa, and Turkey regarded EU membership as a further step towards acquiring a Western identity (Bilgin 2003; Larrabee 2012; Nestoras 2015; Tsakonas and Tournikiotis 2003). This had a positive effect on the EU–NATO relationship since a crucial hurdle was minimised that allowed to establish interorganisational meetings and exchanges.

Despite the evolving relations between Greece and Turkey, new obstacles had to be overcome. Turkey’s exclusion from and

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