Politicians, experts and diplomats are inclined to think that the Turkish government consciously went on a confrontation with the European Union in order to rally the Turkish electorate before holding a referendum on expanding presidential powers on April 16, writes in an article for ZN. UA columnist Vladimir Kravchenko.

The author gives, in particular, the opinion of Marina Vorotnyuk, the lecturer of the Bratislava University of Jan Comenius, who points out that the search for external enemies has become a typical tool of the Turkish authorities. Thus, the United States, Europe, Israel, Assad in Syria, Greece and Armenia, if necessary, are used to "let off steam" in domestic politics, as well as to unite citizens around power.

As Kravchenko notes, Europe is well aware that the April 16 referendum is for the Turkish president Erdogan a populist screen that covers the transformation of secular and republican Turkey into an authoritarian sultanate.

Despite this, Europe, having reacted violently to Ankara's attempt to support the referendum in the Turkish communities on the territory of the EU, involuntarily played up to the Turkish government, allowing it to mobilize its supporters and unite the Turks around themselves, playing the "Europe versus Turkey".

Erdogan states that Turks and Muslims face the EU with a bad attitude. These words resonate with Turkish citizens who believe that in Europe and the world, the attitude towards them is unfair.

Thus, Brussels did not give Turkey a visa-free regime and froze negotiations on the country's accession to the EU, despite the fact that Turkey is one of the leading states in the region with a stable government and a growing economy. At the same time, in the EU, Ankara is required to comply with the agreement on refugees, while minimally fulfilling its financial obligations to it.

"The other day Erdogan said that voting at a referendum in favor of expanding presidential powers would be the best response to the" brutal and fascist "," anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish "Europe. However, the pay for mobilizing the Turkish electorate was a sharp deterioration in relations between Turkey and the EU. Will this deterioration be a prelude to the cataclysm, largely depends on whether the EU recognizes the results of the referendum, "- concluded Kravchenko.