On the European Path

The European Union's public and firm support toward Greece and Cyprus is of historical significance. I'm not sure whether it will have any practical impact. This will become evident in the coming days and weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is unpredictable and, unfortunately, Greek-Turkish ties have accumulated a lot of negative energy over the past few months.

However, it's important to consider how Greece would be viewed by Turkey, and by every other regional foe, if the country were not a member of the European family. Late statesman Constantine Karamanlis has been rightfully vindicated. He believed that EU membership would protect Greece against a dual threat. One threat was the country itself. His experience taught him that every 20-30 years, we tend to release our bad self, to deregulate our political system, and get ourselves into trouble. At the same...