IKV organised a round table meeting on "EU Reform and the Enlargement Agenda" with the collaboration of Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Brussels on 3 May 2018.

Opening speeches of the meeting were delivered by IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, Turkey’s Permanent Delegate to the EU in Brussels Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı and European Commission Head of Unit for Turkey Bernard Brunet.

IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu stated that if the EU approves Turkey and the Western Balkan countries as a member, the EU will become stronger than its current position. President Zeytinoğlu highlighted that with the renewal of the negotiations and the clearing of the way for the modernisation of the Customs Union, trade volume will increase mutually and Turkey will accelerate the reforms on its way to the full membership. While recalling that a summit will be held in Sofia on 17 May 2018 for Western Balkan countries, Chairman Zeytinoğlu criticised the fact that Turkey is not invited to this summit and stressed that this situation signals dissociation towards Turkey in the EU enlargement policy.

Turkey’s Permanent Delegate to the EU in Brussels Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı emphasised that the EU should revive the enlargement process in order to sustain its prominence globally and that decision makers should pay regards to Turkey’s critical role in the future of the EU.

EU enlargement is unthinkable without Turkey

While discussing the possible impacts of the debates concerning the EU’s future on enlargement policy, panelists evaluated the 2018 Enlargement Package which is comprised of European Commission’s Enlargement Strategy and Country Reports. Panelists stated that the EU has been in a reform movement to strengthen its institutional structure post-Brexit and that credibility of its enlargement perspective carries a critical importance. It was emphasised that the EU can only be an influential force and a complete global actor if it can provide a credible membership perspective to the candidate countries.