IKV and Research Centre on Asylum and Migration Academy (IGAM Academy) jointly organised a webinar entitled “5^th Year of the Turkey–EU Deal: Experiences and Predictions” on 18 March 2021. IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu delivered the first opening speech of the webinar which was moderated by IKV Deputy Secretary General M. Gökhan Kilit and IGAM Academy Coordinator and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University faculty member Dr. Nihal Eminoğlu. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu emphasized that Turkey hosting over 4 million refugees has substantially eased the EU’s burden and that the 18 March Turkey-EU Statement included provisions on revitalisation of the accession process, Customs Union modernisation and visa liberalisation in addition to cooperation on migration, which are yet to materialize. Delivering the second opening speech, IGAM President Metin Çorabatır talked about the development of the asylum reception system in Turkey after the 18 March Statement. Delivering the last opening speech, Head of the Political Affairs Section of the EU Delegation to Turkey Eva Horelová talked about the delivery of commitments under the Turkey-EU Statement and highlighted the need for rebuilding mutual trust.

Delivering the keynote address at the webinar, Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı emphasized that the vast majority of the provisions in the 18 March Statement were related to the fundamental dimensions of Turkey-EU relations. Stressing the importance of Turkey’s EU accession perspective, Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Kaymakcı outlined Turkey’s main expectations from an updated Turkey-EU Statement.    

In the panel session, Prof. Howard Duncan from Carleton University approached the migration crisis from a global perspective while European Stability Initiative Founding Chairman Gerald Knaus described the Turkey-EU Statement as a reciprocally frozen process and stressed the need for further financial support from the EU side. Pointing out the developments since 2016, Secretary General of EU-Turkey Forum Laura Batalla Adam suggested that migration and issues related to other dimension of Turkey-EU relations should be discussed separately. IGAM Academy Vice-President Prof. Kemal Kirişci underscored the importance of integrating refugees into the domestic and global economy to sustain their economic well-being. IGAM Academy President Prof. M. Murat Erdoğan from Turkish-German University underlined the need for not only economic but also political cooperation and a long-term approach to migration. Finally, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas touched upon the diverging perspectives of Turkey and the EU on migration which make cooperation on the issue more difficult.