IKV organised a round table meeting entitled “What is Next for Turkey-EU Relations: The Modernisation of Turkey-EU Customs Union” in Berlin on 31 January 2018. The meeting which was organised in cooperation with Frederich Naumann Foundation and hosted by Germany’s influential think tank SWP (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik).

The authorities of three cooperating organisations, researchers, academics, bureaucrats and journalists participated in the meeting. During the meeting, the steps that could be taken for Turkey and the EU relations to come out of the difficult situation they are in and to revive were addressed. In this context, the main threats in the modernisation process of the Customs Union, which has been in force between Turkey and the EU since 1996, were discussed. At the meeting, intentions to continue strong relations between Turkey and the EU were stated and the importance of the role of the anchor that the economy and trade could play in this process was emphasised.