EU criticized for reaction to coup, urged to back Erdogan

EU criticized for reaction to coup, urged to back Erdogan

He called on European leaders to openly support the government in Ankara, and concluded that the consequences of the coup, had it succeeded, would have been unforeseeable, likely plunging Turkey into a civil war.

"The EU would be in a far better position today if EU leaders had gone to Turkey immediately to express their horror at the coup, congratulate the people of Turkey for defeating it and sit down with the President, the government, the leaders in the Grand National Assembly and others to discuss how to collectively ensure a democratic and European path for Turkey," Bildt wrote.

He also noted that the EU "never witnessed a serious military coup attempt in any of its member or accession countries," and that it took "some time" for the EU to condemn the events on the night of the coup.

"And there was no sign of senior EU representatives afterward flying Turkey in support of an accession country facing the gravest threat to its constitutional order yet. Instead, Europe’s leaders immediately began to question measures taken by the Turkish authorities to cleanse from power any elements thought to be associated with the Gulen movement," said Bildt, who is currently co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.

"Is Brussels asleep, or just ignorant?," he wonders in the article, and concludes that "now President Putin may be the first leader to meet with Erdogan after the coup."

The former Swedish official said such an outcome would be "a disgrace for Europe."

"When Turkey asked for derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights, EU leaders howled with disapproval, forgetting that France did the same after the November terror attacks in Paris. There is no question that Turkey has the right to, and indeed must, take measures to safeguard itself against forces trying to topple its constitutional order," wrote Bildt.