The meeting was held in TEPAV on June 8th, 2022 in cooperation with the İstanbul Policy Center.
ANKARA - TEPAV in cooperation with the İstanbul Policy Center (IPC) hosted Andreas Nick, 2022 Mercator-IPC Senior Fellow at IPC and Senem Aydın Düzgit, Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator at IPC on June 8th, 2022. The event was attended by academics, private-public sector representatives, NGO and think tank members as well as representatives of foreign missions located in Ankara. Opening remarks were made by Pelin Oğuz, Mercator-IPC Fellowship Program Coordinator at IPC, and moderation of the discussion was made by TEPAV’s European Union Studies Center Director Nilgün Arısan Eralp.
The panel titled “The Future of Europe/EU and Turkey-EU Relations: Institutions, Policies and Strategies” was held face to face at TEPAV building in Ankara. After Arısan Eralp made a short introduction on the challenges that EU has faced in the last two decades and emphasized the importance of the war in Ukraine for the EU, the panelists made their presentations.
In the light of the most recent developments in the EU and its neighborhood, especially the war in Ukraine, Nick stressed that the current military aggression in Ukraine has created concerns on the EU security and EU enlargement. In this regard, he underlined that the relationship between the EU and Turkey is in a critical state regarding the sea change in the European security architecture. Remarking the strategic and geographical partnerships between Germany and Turkey, Nick claimed that Germany is the country always balancing the relations between EU and Turkey. Nick further underlined that domestic politics and international relations should always be balanced.
Considering the fact that the current relationship between the EU and Turkey is in a stand-still position, Aydın Düzgit stated that a prospect of change is on the table for both fronts, however. In this respect, Düzgit claimed there could be political changes in Turkey after the next elections. Referring to the possible change in the enlargement policy of the EU, Aydın Düzgit reminded that such a change cannot be realized quickly. Furthermore, Aydın Düzgit underlined that the existential issues emerged in the EU have become more exposed after the Ukraine crisis. Regarding the future of Turkey-EU relations Aydın Düzgit asserted that it is the right time for a change in the relations asserting that this change should be incremental and solid.
Following the presentation of current geopolitical realities, the floor was opened for questions and comments.
