The Trinational Winter University Programme which brings together students from Turkey, Germany and France was held in Istanbul on 11-15 January 2016 in cooperation with Yeditepe University Faculty of Law, Université Paris Ouest-Nanterre La Défense and University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Workshops and discussions were held within the framework of the programme regarding company law, capital market law, mediation, constitutional law, business law, investment arbitration, international trade arbitration, environmental law, EU law and competition law.

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Bordeaux University lecturer Prof. Robert Freitag; Prof. Klaus Ulrich Schmolke, Prof. Jochen Hoffman, Dr. Christine Schneider, Dr. Angelika Emmerich-Fritsche from University of Erlangen-Nuremberg; Prof. Stephanie Dijoux, Prof. Otmar Seul, Prof. Jean-Marc Thouvenin, Prof. Eric Millard from Université Paris Ouest-Nanterre La Défense; Potsdam University Dean of Faculty of Law Prof. Tobias Letti and Yeditepe University Dean of Faculty of Law Prof.  Halûk Kabaalioğlu, Yeditepe University lecturers Prof. Nami Barlas, Prof. Yaşar Gürbüz, Prof. Aldülkadir Arpacı and Prof. Ali Cem Budak attended the programme.

In the programme where a variety of presentations were given by the lecturers, French and German lecturers and students and Yeditepe University Faculty of Law lecturers and students had an opportunity to share and deepen their views as well as  an opportunity to compare and contrast their research within the framework of the workshops.

Towards the end of the programme, Economic Development Foundation Vice-President and Yeditepe University Dean of Faculty of Law Prof. Halûk Kabaalioğlu gave information on the latest developments as regards Turkey-EU relations to the participants and stressed that Turkey was pursuing its EU membership objective with determination. Reminding that the process has been hampered as a result of the unilateral integration of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus to the EU and during the Sarkozy presidency in France, he explained that with the election of President François Hollande in France it has been possible for some chapters to be opened to negotiations. Furthermore, Prof. Kabaalioğlu added that with the ongoing refugee crisis resulting from the acceleration of the migration flows towards the EU and also highlighting that Turkey is a candidate country to EU membership, he underlined that relations have entered into a new phase.