The 75^th Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee’s (JPC) Meeting was held in Brussels on the 11^th November 2014 under the joint chairmanship of Afif Demirkıran and Manolis Kefalogiannis. Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkır, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and Deputy Director for European Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Alberto Cutillo on behalf the Italian Presidency also attended the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, JPC Chairman Afif Demirkıran reminded that this Committee was established with the aim of contributing to the reinforcement of Turkey-EU relations and creating a platform where both sides could discuss about potential solutions to overcome current problems. He also stressed the importance of opening chapters related to Judiciary and Fundament Rights (Chapter 23) and Justice, Freedom and Security (Chapter 24). As for the representative of the Italian Presidency Alberto Cutillo, he underlined the fact that there is a specific need to strengthen political will in order to see credible progress in Turkey’s path towards the EU. He urged Turkey to fully implement the Ankara Protocol and normalise diplomatic relations with the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC).

At the occasion of this meeting, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn made his first speech about Turkey since he took office on the 1^st November 2014. In his speech, he ensured that there were no doubt about Turkey’s EU perspective and despite the long road ahead, the objective remains unchanged. Following his evaluation of the recent Progress Report published by the European Commission, he stressed on the importance of establishing an effective dialogue between both parties in order to better monitor the developments in regards to the reforms undertaken in the areas of fundamental freedoms and rule of law and of ensuring their alignment with the EU standards. The European Commission continues to renew its call to the Council to open the Chapters 23 and Chapter 24 for negotiations. It is argued that the opening of these chapters to negotiations will constitute an important stimulus for Turkey to take further reforms in the areas of fundamental freedoms and rule of law.

Furthermore, considering that Turkey plays an important regional role, the European Commission is calling upon Turkey to strengthen and deepen its dialogue in the area of foreign policy and security. The need to reinforce the cooperation in regards to the refugees from Syria and Iraq has been also highlighted during the meeting. In an allusion to the Cyprus issue, Commissioner Hahn underlined the necessity for Turkey to respect the GCASC’s sovereignty over its Exclusive Economic Zone and to avoid any further escalation of tensions. In this regard, he welcomed the last efforts made by the UN Special Representative for Cyprus Espen Barth Eide.

During the meeting, once again Turkey’s dynamic economy and its contribution to the prosperity of the European continent as a whole were praised. Nevertheless the need to strengthen further economic dialogue and cooperation in areas such as energy security and transport were stressed.

Lastly, the publication of the two Action Plans which present the foreseen measures in detail for the period 2015-2019 was considered as an important step and a proof of Turkey’s determination towards its perspective of EU membership.