IKV organised a panel entitled “Brexit, the EU’s Future and Turkey” on 28 November 2018 in cooperation with Friedrich Naumann Foundation and addressed the debates on the agreement reached between May government and EU-27 in the final phase of the Brexit negotiations.

During the panel in which Head of the Economic and Prosperity Team of the British Embassy in Istanbul Nicholas Cannon delivered the opening speech, Brexit’s central position and its potential implications in the EU’s future, the Northern Ireland-Ireland border dispute which was the main breaking point of the negotiations and lastly Brexit’s commercial and economic implications on Turkey were discussed. At the panel moderated by IKV Vice Chairman Prof. Halûk Kabaalioğlu, Assoc. Prof. Özlem Kaygusuz from Ankara University, Assoc. Prof. Donnacha O Beachain from Dublin City University, Directorate General for EU Affairs of Ministry of Trade Elif Gürsoy, Government Affairs Coordinator at Ford Otosan Ali Utku Atalay and Board Member of ITHIB Mustafa Denizer participated in as panellists.

Firstly, Assoc. Prof. Özlem Kaygusuz stated that the Brexit is the peak point of the crises experienced in the EU since 2010. Kaygusuz also expressed that the Brexit decision of the UK, which has consistently resisted the deepening of integration, was not directly linked to the euro and immigration crises however Brexit’s dynamics could not be thought independently from the crises which have affected the whole EU.

Prof. Donnacha O Beachain, who took the floor following Assoc. Prof. Özlem Kaygusuz, focused on the Ireland issue and the media’s influence in the Brexit process.  She also remarked that the political declaration published following the special meeting of the European Council contained only one article on the border issue and consensus reached is not sufficient to get rid of the uncertainties.

Afterwards, Directorate General for EU Affairs of Ministry of Trade Elif Gürsoy remarked that the model foreseen in the Draft Agreement and the Political Declaration could establish a customs zone between the UK and EU-27 of similar nature to Turkey-EU Customs Union.

Finally, Government Affairs Coordinator at Ford Otosan Ali Utku Atalay and Board Member of ITHIB Mustafa Denizer narrated that the sectors which rapidly grows competitiveness in the global market today and contribute most to Turkish economy along with the Turkey-EU Customs Union will suffer from uncertainty, therefore the developments concerning Brexit should be followed closely.