ANKARA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The turbulence between the European Union and Turkey, whose membership talks with the bloc have already been moribund, is likely to escalate within the next three weeks until constitutional referendum.
Moreover, Turkey's EU accession process could get into long term danger if a constitutional amendment granting president extended powers passes the referendum on April 16, according to local experts.
"Domestic policy considerations of both the Turkish government and prominent European countries may unexpectedly damage EU-Turkey relations even after the latter's constitutional referendum on April 16," a retired ambassador Uluc Ozulker told Xinhua.
On Thursday, the European Commission summoned the Turkish ambassador to explain comments by President Erdogan that Europeans would not be able to "walk safely on the streets" if they kept up their current attitude towards Turkey.
The European countries could be faced with a surprise depending on the results of the April 16 referendum, Erdogan stated Thursday adding "We may need to look at some things in political terms."
Erdogan recently said Turkey would emerge stronger after the referendum and may reconsider its relationship with European Union. "Once April 16 is over, we will sit at the table. This cannot continue this way. We, as Turkey, will do what is necessary," he said last week.
A spat with Germany, followed a diplomatic tension with the Netherlands, was triggered after the Turkish government insisted its ministers to campaign for the referendum among the diaspora in these countries.
Rallies of the Turkish politicians were banned by German and Dutch authorities, who criticized the Turkish government's drive to take its referendum campaign to Turks based in their countries.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's accusation to European states of "Nazi" tactics has led to war of words, but Ankara's expectation from the EU to take side with Turkey was not met by Brussels; on the contrary, the bloc urged the Turkish government to avoid inflammatory rhetoric.
The European Commission's warning escalated feud between Turkey and the EU which was already in steady deterioration after the Turkish government launched mass arrests and purges for more than 100,000 civil servants under state of emergency since a failed coup attempt in July 2016.
Erdogan has staked all on passing a constitutional amendment that will transform the country from a parliamentary system to an executive presidency giving him extended powers perceived by the EU as "excessive."
The ambassador said that states such as Germany and France are through election process in 2017 as well with rising xenophobia and Islamophobia across the continent.
"In my perspective, Turkey's relations with the EU have ended. After all these tensions, what I understand from Erdogan's remarks is that Ankara is very likely to suspend membership talks," Ozulker said.
The negotiations for Turkey's EU membership bid began in 2005 but few Turks believe their country will ever actually be allowed to join the union.
The European Parliament has already decided in November to advise governments and the commission to freeze full membership negotiations.
The Venice Commission's advisory body to the Council of Europe issued a highly critical report on Turkey's constitutional amendments and defined the proposed charter draft as "representing a dangerous step backwards in the constitutional democratic tradition of Turkey."
The EU has linked its institutional stance about Turkey's constitutional change to the report of Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, according to Sedat Ergin, a columnist of daily Hurriyet.
In the case of a "yes" in referendum, the EU will assess the compliance of the constitutional amendments with the Copenhagen political criteria that constitute the basis for full membership negotiations in the light of the critical analysis of Venice Commission, he stated.
"Whatever the outcome from the polls is, all signs indicate to us that after the referendum, relations between Turkey and the EU will pass through a new chapter," Ergin said, adding "We are now in a state where the EU's options are ranging from the freezing of negotiations to the implementation of economic sanctions, which is beginning to be discussed with a loud voice."
"It will not surprising that Erdogan will respond the EU, which he sees as a party to referendum, with an unfavorable reaction after April 16," Ergin argued.