IKV organized on the 1^st October 2014a seminar entitled “Turkey-EU Relations: The Way Forward” in Rome, Italy which is currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. This seminar was organized under the framework of the Project “Presidency of the Council of the EU and Turkey-EU Relations” and in cooperation with one of the most prestigious think-tanks of Italy Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). The participants of the seminar were consisted of representatives from diplomatic missions in Rome, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, universities and the media.

The opening speeches of the seminar were given by IKV Chairman Ömer Cihad Vardan and IAI’s Deputy Director Natalie Tocci. During the plenary session of the seminar, Turkey’s Deputy Minister for EU Affairs Dr. Alaattin Büyükkaya and Italy’s Deputy Director General for European Integration Alberto Cutillo also presented their points of view on the future of Turkey-EU relations.

The main focus of the seminar was the latest political and economic developments in Turkey. The importance of EU membership for Turkey and Italy’s support during Turkey’s EU accession process were also discussed. During the seminar, IKV Vice President and President of Kale Group Zeynep Bodur Okyay; Member to the Central Decision-Making and Executive Board of AKP and General Coordinator of Albayrak Group, former President of MUSIAD, and former Researcher at IKV Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat; European Stability Initiative Chairman Gerald Knaus; Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of the Koç University Prof. Dr. Ali Çarkoğlu and Chairman of the Centre for Strategic Research Prof. Dr. Ali Resul Usul presented Turkey-EU relations in different perspectives during the seminar.

During the opening speech, IKV Chairman Vardan explained that IKV has been the first and only NGO specialized on Turkey-EU relations representing Turkish business community since 1965. Vardan also mentioned that “As a businessman, I feel confident to say that Turkey is economically integrated to the EU to a great extent. Yet, the visa issue and exclusion of Turkey from EU’s free trade agreement negotiations not only prevent to develop even further our relations but also reveal an unfair and discriminatory approach towards Turkey”. Reminding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement of 2014 as the ‘year of the EU’, Vardan stressed the importance of determining a date for Turkey’s accession to the EU.

Turkish Deputy Minister for EU Affairs Dr. Alaattin Büyükkaya ensured that EU membership has always been a strategic aim for Turkey. Underlining Turkey’s determinacy to fulfil political reforms and socio-economic transformation, Büyükkaya stated that Turkey’s accession to the EU is a “win-win” situation where Turkey will be contributing to the welfare of Europe to an important extent. Finally, Büyükkaya addressed the importance of the  Italian Presidency of the Council of the EU and drew the attention to the potential contribution that Italy can make for Turkey’s EU accession process.

Deputy Director General for European Integration Alberto Cutillomentioned that the opening of “Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments” to negotiations constitutes an important opportunity to give a new momentum to Turkey-EU relations after a 3 years standstill. He also added that there is a possibility of opening one or two chapters to negotiations until the end of the Italian Presidency but Turkey’s commitment to reforms and harmonization with the EU acquis is of a greater importance during this process.

In her speech, IKV Vice President and President of Kale Group Zeynep Bodur Okyay focused on the economic and commercial aspects of the relations between Turkey and the EU. Stressing the possible difficulties that Turkey would face if excluded from TTIP negotiations between EU and the US, Okyay mentioned that Turkey as part of the Customs Union should also be at the negotiation table. Assessing the relations between Turkey and Italy, Okyay explained that Turkey and Italy have numerous commonalities which can facilitate cooperation between the two countries.

During his speech on visa and Readmission Agreement, Chairman of the European Stability Initiative Gerald Knaus underlined the political problems encountered within the accession negotiations that prevent further development of relations. Knaus assessed the criteria for visa-free travel as “tough, but fair” and ensured that the process was conducted in a transparent and honest way and explained how this approach could be also implemented to all other negotiation chapters. He thus stressed on the importance of determining a road map containing concrete criteria to be met for each chapter of the acquis.

Member to the Central Decision-Making and Executive Board of AKP and General Coordinator of Albayrak Group Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat presented in details the current situation of Turkish economy. He further explained how the economic growth registered by Turkey and the economic reforms undergone contributed to the development of the country. Reminding how socio-economic transformation contribute in raising the confidence of Turkish public, Bolat underlined the need for Turkey now to focus more on exporting high  value-added products and services and increase in the industrial investment  in order to avoid the ‘middle-income trap’ as well as to generate new employment opportunities for Turkish youth and to reduce the current account deficit. In this respect, Bolat asserted that Turkey needs to encourage households and companies to increase savings in order to finance investments in Turkey.

Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of the Koç University Prof. Dr. Ali Çarkoğlu spoke about the elections and political developments in Turkey and analysed the status of parties in political system, the latest election results and commented on the presidential system.  Çarkoğlu also explained that he did not expect the June 2015 elections to cause any major changes in the current political structure.

During his speech, Chairman of the Centre for Strategic Research Prof. Dr. Ali Resul Usul highlighted the increase of the security threats, the rise of the non-Western powers, and the new conflict zones. As Usul stressed that after the events such as the Ukrainian crisis and the emergence of Islamic State (IS), Turkey has prioritized the creation of safe havens within its borders. Chairman Usul emphasized the importance of the NATO membership and the EU accession process and he reminded Turkey’s commitment to ensure the security capacity of the region. Concerning Turkey-EU negotiations, Prof. Dr. Ali Resul Usul shared his concerns over the negative impact of the political pressures on Turkey’s EU accession process. He pointed out that EU should follow its own principles again and the evaluation of negotiation process should be conducted on a merit basis. Usul further added that although EU has lost its attraction in Turkey, EU continues to be important for the Turkish people.