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endured. Erdogan's political life as a problem solver appears to have come to an end. The only way for Erdoğan to survive is to convince Turkey's citizens, including Kurds and other minorities, that the only options in front of them are ‘Tayyip or we burn the country’”. Tanir’s piece also observed that Erdogan, who last week fired his central bank governor after demands for interest rate cuts were not met, was building up its forces along its border with Syria in possible preparation for an offensive into the northeast of the wartorn neighbour, where US troops are stationed. An incursion could come as a response to any approved US sanctions.
Cavusoglu not taking sanctions “seriously”. Responding to the EU sanctions, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on July 15 that there was no need to take very seriously decisions made by the bloc to curb contacts and funding for Ankara over its drilling for gas and oil off Cyprus. "There is no need to take it very seriously. These are simple things. These aren't things that will impact us. We have three ships there, God willing we will send a fourth ship to the eastern Mediterranean as soon as possible. Let them understand that they cannot deal with Turkey with such methods," he said during a visit to North Macedonia. "The [EU sanctions] decisions will not affect in the slightest our country's determination to continue hydrocarbon activities in the Eastern Mediterranean," the Turkish Foreign Ministry added in a statement. The EU's failure to mention Turkish Cypriots in its decisions "showed how biased and partisan the EU is on the subject of Cyprus," the ministry also said.
‘Up to €400m at stake’. An EU diplomat told Reuters Ankara could lose some 150 million of 400 million euros the bloc had earmarked for 2020 for everything from political reforms to agriculture projects to help Turkey prepare for eventual EU membership. The EU had been due to give Turkey €4.45bn between 2014 and 2020, but it cut and suspended some funding last year. It has frozen membership talks and negotiations on upgrading its customs union with Turkey, accusing Erdogan of grave violations of human rights. Nicosia, meanwhile, rejected an offer by breakaway Northern Cyprus controlled by Turkish Cypriots for talks on sharing gas reserves. It described the proposal as a thinly-disguised attempt to divert attention away from the need to resume peace talks for a comprehensive settlement to the island’s division.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will not enter into any new lending in Turkey linked to the country’s government until at least the end of the year. The EIB—which said the time period would be spent conducting a strategy review—is Turkey’s biggest single lender. It has pumped between €0.4bn and €2.2bn into the country in the past three years, although nothing has been invested so far in 2019.
The block placed on lending is not expected to impact private sector projects in Turkey, with the bank possibly moving to sign around €350mn worth of deals before the end of the year if EU finance ministers on the EIB board approve the related loans.
Authorities in Istanbul on July 22 set a four-week deadline on for Syrians living without approval in the city to return to provinces where they are registered or face forced removal to those localities. Istanbul’s new mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has said that a million Syrians live in the city, while Interior Ministry figures show 500,000 are registered. Turkey’s recession-hit economy and high levels of unemployment have sparked anger against the 3.6mn Syrians living in Turkey, a refugee population that fled the still not entirely resolved civil war in neighbouring Syria. Turks see them as offering cheap labour and taking jobs from Turks, and using services including health and education. Turkey’s fraught relations with the EU are also a hindrance to Syrians attempting to settle in Turkey. The bloc pays Turkey to look after Syrian refugees to prevent them heading for the European continent but Ankara has signalled to Brussels that such arrangements might come under threat if relations between the EU and Turkey do not improve. Crowds regularly attack Syrian shops and properties across Turkey.
18 TURKEY Country Report August 2019 www.intellinews.com