Within the scope of the joint project of IKV and EP Turkey Forum, assistants of some MEPs paid a working visit to Istanbul on 31 October-2 November. On the first day of the visit, the committee had a number of contacts at Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) and Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD).

The committee consists of Secretary General of EP Turkey Forum Laura Batalla Adam, Member of European People’s Party (EPP) Franc Bogovic’s assistant Gregor Košir, Member of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Urmas Paet’s assistant Kati Parn, Member of Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists&Democrats Claudia ?apardel’s assistant Catalina-Elena Prisacaru and Member of Socialists&Democrats Javi López’s assistant Aranzazu Calvera Cosculluela. Within the scope of the committee’s Istanbul contacts, the first meeting was at IPC. There, the committee was accompanied by IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas, IKV Researcher Ahmet Ceran and Junior Researchers Selvi Eren and Merve Özcan. At the meeting where the committee came together with IPC Director Prof. Fuat Keyman and Senior Scholar and Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Senem Aydın Düzgit, Mercator-IPC Fellowship Coordinator Pelin Oğuz and 2018/2019 Mercator-IPC Fellow Maissam Nimer were present, too.

IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas who delivered the opening speech of the meeting briefly summarised IKV and its working areas. Afterwards, she narrated the purpose of the meeting and the aim of MEPs’ assistants and advisors gathering with specialists from IKV and IPC. At the meeting where giving first-hand information regarding the situation in Turkey and the perspective regarding Turkey-EU relations to MEPs’ assistants to MEPs’ assistants, IPC Director and Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University Fuat Keyman took the floor subsequent to Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas.

After giving information regarding IPC and its structure, Prof. Keyman continued his words by mentioning that Turkey and the EU are very significant partners. He introduced IPC’s two new policy papers related to refugees and touched also upon the Syria Summit that took place on 27 October in Istanbul with the participation of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany. Within this scope, Prof. Fuat Keyman mentioned that the EU needs Turkey more and more. Afterwards, he gave the floor to Assoc. Prof. Senem Aydın Düzgit. 

IPC Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Senem Aydın Düzgit stated that studies at IPC were conducted with the belief of virtue of full accession perspective and were arguing that accession negotiations should not be suspended. Moreover, Düzgit underlined that the challenging part of deciding cooperation areas between the parties is making the relationship value based and the least transactional as possible. In addition, mentioning the new cooperation search in the defence domain that seeks to go beyond the existing mechanisms, Düzgit brought up the PESCO initiative containing 23 EU Member States. Emphasising the uncertainty about how third countries should be integrated into PESCO, Assoc. Prof. Düzgit expressed that for the time being it is difficult to comment on the future position of Turkey in the PESCO’s governance structure.

In the aftermaths of the IPC meeting, the second stage of the agenda of the EP assistants’ delegation which was accompanied by IKV Secretary-General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas and IKV Researcher Ahmet Ceran was TÜSİAD. TÜSİAD Secretary-General Bahadır Kaleağası, Deputy Secretary-General Hale Hatipoğlu and External Political Relations Senior Advisor Zafer Gazi hosted the delegation in the TÜSİAD headquarter.

Following the entry speech of TÜSİAD Secretary-General describing the main activities of the association in Istanbul and Brussels; recent developments in Turkey’s relationship with the EU, challenges that had been faced over the years as well as the present situation of bilateral economic relations were discussed.

Kaleağası reminded that a number of mistakes had been made over the past years in both sides having caused tides between Turkey and the EU. Furthermore, the Secretary-General emphasised a constructive dialogue is indispensable at the current situation in which the EU presents even the continuation of accession negotiations as a reward. Echoing that Turkey’s the one and only objective regarding the EU is to obtain the membership status, thus, Kaleağası claimed alternative partnership options weren't realistic for Turkey. Moreover, sharing statecraft notions with the delegation which have been formed since the Empire Ottoman, the Secretary-General underlined the fact that Turkey's historical direction has always been toward the West.

In addition, TÜSİAD officers touched upon the crucial importance of the modernisation of the Turkey-EU Customs Union and, stated once again the modernisation negotiations weren't a reward but mostly a must for bilateral economic relations. It has been reminded that economically speaking, improving the relations was meaning a win-win scenario for both parties thereby Turkey belonging in the European integration.