IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu assessed the 54^th meeting of the Turkey-EU Association Council held on 15 March 2019. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu stated the meeting, which was held after a 4-year hiatus, was extremely positive in terms of normalization in Turkey-EU relations and continued as follows:

“The reconvening after a four-year hiatus of the Association Council, which is the main decision-making body in Turkey-EU relations, is encouraging. The fact that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini has emphasised Turkey’s status as a candidate country and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has reiterated Turkey’s commitment to the EU accession process and reforms is extremely important. Although there are differences of opinion between Turkey and the EU in various fields, there are also many commonalities particularly in the fields of security and foreign policy. The areas in which steps could be taken for relations to advance are clear. Accession negotiations come first among these areas, in this context Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu has brought up the issue of opening chapters. Additionally, the modernisation of the Customs Union and visa liberalisation stand out as other major areas that would be valuable to make progress. Although taking concrete steps for the future was not possible at this Association Council meeting, Turkey and EU coming together and sustaining their dialogue, identifying potential areas for cooperation and expressing their disagreements is healthy for the future of the relations. The continuation of the process on a regular basis will not only contribute to Turkey and EU’s understanding of each other better, but also help them resolve their outstanding issues.”