Ex-envoy: Brexit will be bad for everyone, including Turkey

The United Kingdom leaving the European Union is a bad decision for the British, the union, and everyone else including Turkey, according to a retired Turkish diplomat.
"The U.K. has traditionally been one of the most forceful supporters of Turkish integration with the EU," Selim Kuneralp has told Hürriyet Daily News.
"Once the U.K. is out, France and Germany will dominate, and in an EU where France and Germany call the shots, clearly there is very little hope for Turkey's accession," he added.
What is your view on the new European Commission and its impact on the Turkish-European Union relations?
These days the commission is not as influential as it used to be.
I have had two postings in Brussels, once in the 1990s and the second time some 15 years later. In the 1990s, the commission was all-powerful, and when we were negotiating the Customs Union, we dealt essentially with the commission and very marginally with the member states and even less with the parliament.
To give you an example, when we were negotiating the Customs Union, some Mediterranean countries were creating difficulties over liberalizing Turkey's exports of tomato paste. I suggested to the commission that we should approach member states. The reply was that keeping member states under control is the responsibility of the commission.
So, my interlocutor said, "You don't need to worry about it, we will settle it," and indeed, they did fall into line.
Also, as the parliament was consulted on the Customs Union, as Turkey we were rather worried that something might go wrong with the parliament. But the commission said, "They will be so happy that we are consulting them even though we are not legally obliged that they will vote in favor of the Customs...