EU officials hit out at Ankara after ErdoÄŸan attacks Macron

Top EU officials jumped into a diplomatic tussle with Turkey on Sunday after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan questioned Emmanuel Macron’s mental health, prompting Paris to recall its ambassador to Ankara.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas joined the fray as Turkey doubled down on criticism of the French president and the EU, the day after Erdoğan’s attack on Macron over his stance on Islam.

Borrell tweeted, in French, that Erdoğan’s words are “unacceptable. I call on Turkey to stop this dangerous spiral of confrontation.”

The former Spanish foreign minister declared that EU leaders, at a summit earlier this month, had made Turkey “a real offer to relaunch our relationship.” But, he warned, “political will from the Turkish authorities is needed on this positive agenda. Otherwise, Turkey will be even more isolated.”

Erdoğan declared Saturday that Macron needs “mental treatment” over his view of Islam. France promptly recalled its ambassador for consultations.

Tensions between the EU and Ankara have risen in recent months, particularly over maritime disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean, which pit EU members Greece and Cyprus against Turkey. France has taken a particularly hard line against Turkey on those disputes and a range of other issues, including the wars in Syria and Libya, and more recently the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Erdoğan on Sunday renewed his personal attacks on Macron, saying in a televised speech the French president “has lost his way” and that “he is a case and he really must be checked up,” Reuters reported.

Macron this week pledged to step up his government’s fight against radical Islamism, following the beheading of a teacher who had shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad during a class discussion on freedom of speech. Earlier this month he vowed to end what he called “Islamist separatism” in French society.

The Turkish government’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, also went on the offensive on Sunday, sparring on Twitter with Schinas, who is in overall charge of EU migration and security policy.

Altun issued a series of tweets, including one accusing “some European leaders” of attacking Muslims and “our sacred values, our scripture, our prophet and our political leaders — our way of life.” He also likened treatment of Muslims to the “demonization of the European Jewry in the 1920s.”

Schinas — whose much-debated job title is Vice President for Promoting our European Way of Life — replied: “Sorry to disappoint you but this is our way of life as defined in our Treaty. The European Way of Life” and added a screenshot of a treaty article defining fundamental EU values.

Altun replied, “Actually, this is your way of life now” and linked to an article by investigative outlet Bellingcat accusing the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, of being complicit in illegal pushbacks to impede people attempting to enter the EU via Greek waters.