The war and the unbearable heat have led Europe to unprecedented spending. And Türkiye has become the perfect supermarket

For centuries, in the Mediterranean, white was much more than an aesthetic question: whitewashed facades, light roofs and narrow streets helped reflect solar radiation and keeping homes several degrees cooler long before the invention of air conditioning. Two thousand years later, Europe once again discovers that fighting the heat has become a priority.

Europe is paying two unexpected bills. For decades, Europe built its prosperity on one premise: that the continent would enjoy a relatively stable environment, both in climate and security.

That scenario has changed at high speed. Heat waves are increasingly intensewar has returned to the continent, and both phenomena are forcing governments to spend billions in two needs that previously seemed secondary: cooling their cities and strengthening their armies.

Air conditioning as critical infrastructure. Heat waves have ceased to be exceptional episodes and have become an economic factor permanent. Schools, hospitals, companies, data centers and industries need air conditioning systems capable of maintaining their activity even during extreme temperatures.

Air conditioning has ceased to be a domestic luxury and has become a essential infrastructurewhile countries in central and northern Europe discover a need for which they never prepared their buildings.

Türkiye had been preparing for years. It happens that, while Europe was beginning to discover the problem, Türkiye already had a powerful air conditioning industryextensive manufacturing capacity and an enormous logistical advantage over Asian competitors.

The result is that Turkish exports of air conditioning, heat pumps and other refrigeration systems they are growing to the heat (pun intended) of a continent that needs to modernize millions of buildings and also do so under criteria of energy efficiency and sustainability.

The other great urgency: rearmament. I counted the weekend the Washington Post that the climate is not the only front that is strengthening the Turkish position. The progressive withdrawal of the United States from European security and increase in military spending have placed the Turkish arms industry in a privileged position.

Its drones, armored vehicles, ammunition and other defensive systems have demonstrated competitiveness, availability and attractive prices just when many European countries are looking for new suppliers to accelerate their rearmament.

From awkward partner to supplier. For years, Türkiye was viewed with suspicion within NATO for the purchase of the Russian S-400 systemthe tensions with Greece, its policy in Syria or the temporary blockage of Sweden’s entry into the Alliance.

However, the context has changed profoundly. Europe needs weapons. It needs to control migratory flows. And now it also needs technology to adapt to a much more hostile climate. That combination has notably reduced public criticism of Ankara and reinforced its diplomatic weight within the Alliance.

Trump and Erdogan’s position. Plus: the good relationship between Donald Trump and Erdogan has added another layer to this change of scenario. The American president has publicly praised the Turkish leader and has left the door open to unblocking old disagreements, such as the one related with F-35 fighters.

At the same time, the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara will serve to showcase Turkey as one of the essential actors in the new Western security architecture.

The great European paradox has a clear winner. Thus, the two great crises that today condition the future of Europe seem to have no relationship with each other. One comes from the atmosphere in form of heat waves increasingly extreme. The other comes from the deterioration of the geopolitical scenario and the return of war to the continent.

However, both converge on the same point: they force Europe to buy what it needs most. And few economies seem so well placed to take advantage of both trends. like the turkish. While the continent seeks how to protect itself from the heat and military uncertainty, Türkiye is establishing itself as one of the major providers of solutions to both problems.

Image | Wikimedia

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