Who is the Best Security Partner Alternative for Turkey: The European Union or Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?
The European Parliament decision to suspend enlargement negotiations with Turkey until the end of emergency law seems to be a new stalemate between Turkey and the EU. After the Lisbon Treaty, increasing influence of the Parliament over the Council and the Commission indicates that it will not be easy for the Council to ignore the Parliament's decision. If the European Council supports the Parliament's decision in the near future, this will jeopardize fluctuating relations between Turkey and the EU. If that scenario comes true, we may see Turkey seeking new partners in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that has been expressed often in recent months by senior Turkish politicians. Shifting Turkey's direction from West to East has not been voiced seriously since 1998, after Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz disappointed when he did not see Turkey's name on enlargement countries. Nevertheless, when the EU add Turkey's name to prospective candidate countries a year