Europa don dey face di biggest wahala for im history for di last few years. Di Ukraine war, di Gaza war, plus di kasala wey dey happen for Middle East don shake di security wey Europe dey rely on. Dis kain time don show say Europe need beta partners wey dem fit trust. Di talk wey former US President Donald Trump make about Europe defence don make EU begin reason how dem go change dia defence strategy. Now, EU need to redefine dia defence plan – make dem no dey depend on di US or NATO again. Di main reason na because di US dey leave Europe to handle dia security by demself. For dis matter, Türkiye wey don dey try join EU since and get strong economic and political relationship with EU, don become important again.
Di Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, talk say: “We dey hope say di EU membership process for Türkiye go finally become real.”
Di question now be: How Europe wan take secure dia sef without Türkiye? Di invitation wey dem give Türkiye to di EU summit for March 2025 and di talk wey German Chancellor Olaf Scholz make say, “E good say we dey involve not only EU members but also European partners like UK, Norway, and Türkiye,” show say Türkiye na key player for Europe.
Di forgotten shield: Why Türkiye dey important for NATO
Türkiye get 440,000 active soldiers, wey make dem get di second biggest army for NATO. Dem dey protect NATO for di eastern and southeastern side. Dis military power no be only for NATO, e dey important for Europe security too.
NATO Secretary-General, Mark Rutte, talk say: “Make we no forget say Türkiye na very important ally for di alliance. Dem get one of di best-equipped military for NATO. Dem dey play big role for dia area and dey provide strong support for NATO.”
From di Black Sea region to di Middle East, Türkiye dey central for fighting terrorism, securing borders, and handling crisis. Without Türkiye, Europe no fit protect dia sef.
Türkiye as Europe border guard – di hard truth
Di 2015 refugee crisis show say Europe no fit protect dia borders and dem dey depend on Türkiye. Türkiye na di strongest defence against irregular migration enter Europe.
Türkiye dey house di highest number of refugees for di world. According to UNHCR, dem get about 3.2 million registered Syrian refugees plus 222,000 people from other countries under international protection.
Di EU-Türkiye refugee agreement for 2016 na di main tool wey control di refugee crisis for Europe. Turkish security forces don stop hundreds of thousands illegal border crossings. Without Türkiye, Europe no go fit handle di migration wahala.
Energy crisis without Türkiye?
Di Ukraine war don show how dangerous e be to depend only on Russian energy. As Europe dey find alternative to Russian gas, di energy pipelines wey pass through Türkiye dey very important.
Di Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and di Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) dey carry gas from Azerbaijan through Türkiye enter Europe.
Di TurkStream dey carry Russian gas through Türkiye go Southern Europe.
As of 2024, di TANAP pipeline fit carry 16.2 billion m³ gas per year, 5.7 billion m³ na for Türkiye and di rest na for Europe. SOCAR talk say by May 2024, dem don carry over 62 billion m³ gas through TANAP. Türkiye na di main player for Europe energy security. Without Türkiye, Europe no fit diversify dia energy supply.
Without Türkiye no peace: Europe dey underrate dia key player
Türkiye no be only military and energy partner, dem dey important for diplomacy too. For di Ukraine war, Türkiye play big role as mediator wey affect di war outcome.
Di Grain Deal allow millions of tons of grain to dey export through di Black Sea, wey stop global food crisis. With UN and Türkiye support, about 33 million tons of grain and food move from Ukraine ports between 2022–2023.
Europe sabi say Türkiye dey important for security, energy, migration, and terrorism fight, but dem still dey act distant because of political and ideological reasons. Dis kain attitude no go work again. Türkiye no be just neighbor, dem be partner wey Europe need.
Europe security without Türkiye?
With di big threats wey Europe dey face now, any plan wey no involve Türkiye or see dem as temporary partner no go work. Türkiye dey central for Europe security for military, border protection, energy, terrorism fight, and diplomacy.
Without Türkiye, Europe security plan no go complete. Europe need to build new and equal partnership with Türkiye and accept dem as full partner for security and foreign policy. If dem no do am, Europe security go dey shaky.
