On 14 February 2019, Head of the Turkey Unit at European Commission’s DG NEAR, Bernard Brunet and European External Action Service’s (EEAS) Head Turkey Division, Thomas Frellesen visited IKV and came together with representatives from the Turkish business community at the working lunch hosted by IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu. The EU officials, who were in Turkey to hold meetings in Ankara and Istanbul in preparation for the Turkey-EU Association Council meeting scheduled for 15 March 2019, were accompanied by Vincent-Guillaume Poupeau, Political Counsellor at the EU Delegation to Turkey and Camelia Suica from the EEAS.

During the working lunch, which was attended by IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, Turkish Home Textile Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TETSIAD) Chairman Ali Sami Aydın and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the automotive company Farba, Ahmet Bayraktar, Turkey’s EU accession process was deliberated from the business community’s perspective. At the meeting, during which the current situation of the Turkish economy was discussed, the importance of the EU anchor in terms of foreign investments was highlighted. Moreover, the Schengen visa requirement which is among the fundamental problems faced by Turkish business people doing business with the EU as well as problems arising from the current functioning of the Customs Union were brought to attention. In this context, the state of play in Turkey-EU relations, visa liberalisation and the modernisation of the Customs Union were discussed in detail. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu and the delegation composed of businessmen were accompanied by IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas, Research Director Çisel İleri, Business Development and Strategy Director M. Gökhan Kilit, Senior Researcher Yeliz Şahin and EU Information Center Coordinator and Press Officer Mehmet Poyrazlı.