No, this is not about children and iPads, but about the EU's extraordinary summit on the serious conflict with Turkey, which is rattling with weapons against Greece and Cyprus.

It is a fragmented gathering of EU leaders gathered on Thursday to find a way out of the Mediterranean crisis.

Greece, Cyprus and France want to fight hard.

Cyprus has even objected to sanctions against Belarus and demands that the EU first impose sanctions on Turkey.

Appears senseless

But heavyweight Germany, on the other hand, firmly believes in dialogue with Turkey.

"We must balance our relations with great caution and focus on cooperation," said Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the meeting, praising Turkey's efforts in the refugee issue.  

Ahead of the EU summit, Ankara has demanded that Turkey want a renewed customs union, more money for the refugee agreement and visa-free travel to EU countries for Turkish citizens.  

These are high demands, probably unrealistic.

But the question is what the EU can offer Turkey to calm the threatening arms race with warships and sharp military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.  

Turkey's foreign policy behavior may seem absurd, but in many cases it follows a fairly familiar pattern.

Ankara first puts on a heavenly life and then sits down at the negotiating table and tries to turn the turbulence into diplomatic achievements.  

That method has worked quite well for Turkey in, for example, the refugee issue and the military attack on Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

EU pressured to use the cane

President Erdogan's goal in the Mediterranean is for Turkey to be allowed to share in the cake of gas deposits.

Turkey is currently isolated by Egypt, Israel, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan and Palestine, which have created a kind of club to jointly mint the natural resources of the seabed. 

Turkey and Greece have recently agreed to open negotiations on the maritime border dispute.

The EU summit is an opportunity for Ankara to indirectly put pressure on the Greek side for concessions.  

It certainly seems tempting for the EU to try to solve the whole problem by throwing a meat bone at Ankara, so large that Turkey can get away with the honor. 

At the same time, the EU is under pressure to also use the cane, at least symbolically, so that Greece and Cyprus do not feel overwhelmed.  

As if that were not difficult enough, the issue is further complicated by Turkey's involvement in the bloody conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.  

Those who want to take a hard line against Turkey thus get water on their mill.

But in the end, it is probably most likely that the German line of dialogue will stand strongest when it comes to the crisis.