IKV ORGANIZED A WEBINAR ON THE NEW ERA IN THE EU INSTITUTIONS AFTER THE EP ELECTIONS
IKV organized a webinar titled “New Era and New Agenda in the EU Institutions After the EP Elections” on 27 June 2024. IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, who delivered the opening speech of the meeting, began his speech by emphasizing the significance of the changes after the EP elections. In his speech, Chairperson Zeytinoğlu emphasized that the center-right, center-left and liberal groups could form a composition together, while also stressing that the increase in votes of the far-right was concerning. Zeytinoğlu gave examples of the far-right party coming in second in Germany, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s group rising to third place in the EP, the far-right party coming in first in France and French President Emmanuel Macron calling for an election and stating that the losers of the election were the liberal Renew Europe and the Greens. Chairperson Zeytinoğlu stated that at the European Council to be held on 27–28 June 2024, leaders will negotiate about who will be appointed to high-level positions in the EU and that the names of Ursula von der Leyen (European People's Party-European Commission) from Germany, António Costa (Social Democrats-EU Council) from Portugal and Kaja Kallas (Liberals-High Representative) from Estonia have been mentioned for the highest-level positions such as the European Commission and President of the European Council and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Chairperson Zeytinoğlu underlined that security, defence policy, migration and asylum, and enlargement issues will also be on the agenda of the Council meeting. Chairperson Zeytinoğlu concluded his speech by indicating that Türkiye, as a candidate country, should closely observe developments.
IKV Deputy Secretary General M. Gökhan Kilit who moderated the webinar, introduced the participants and afterwards TOBB-IKV Brussels Representative Haluk Nuray started his speech. Nuray began his speech by stating that the EP election results were not very surprising and that changes in the balance of seats in the EP are normal. Nuray, who mentioned that the first signs of the 2024 EP election results were given in the 2019 elections, added that the center-right and left-wing votes were decreasing. Nuray emphasized that the most important issue to discuss is the reason for the increase in far-right votes. According to Nuray, one of the reasons for the increasing voting rates is the EU's failure to respond to the real demands of the voters, Nuray also pointed out the importance of the decline in the EU's economic indicators. Nuray stated that the EU's economic weight in the world could fall below 10% in the 2050s. Nuray also claimed that governments have a performance crisis and there is a poor management problem according to the citizens. Nuray concluded his speech by saying that the process of assigning the leaders of the EU may lead to a democracy problem in the future.
The second speaker of the webinar, Senior European Policy Advisor and KAGİDER EU Representative Ayşe Yürekli, started her speech by stating that the EU Council to be held on 27 June 2024, is essential for determining future EU policies. According to Yürekli, Ukraine is one of the most important issues of the meeting and Yürekli added the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is noteworthy. Yürekli pointed out that sustainable peace in the Middle East is one of the agenda items of the meeting. Yürekli stated that one of the notable topics of the meeting was how high-level positions within EU institutions would be distributed and expressed that von der Leyen's likelihood of being elected as Commission President is a high possibility. Yürekli mentioned that defence, competitiveness, the capital markets union, and enlargement were other highlighted topics of the meeting, and Yürekli focused on the question of what the future of the EU's gender equality policies might be. Yürekli added that the EP had significant achievements in this area during the 2019-2024 period and that there could be a regression if the far-right gained power.
Senior Analyst at EPC and Lecturer at VUB Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek, began his remarks by emphasizing the importance of the spirit behind the rules introduced by the EU rather than the rules themselves. Defining the concept of strategic autonomy as standing on one's own two feet, not being dependent on a single country, and cooperating with countries that act according to values, Seyrek highlighted the importance of this concept for the EU, which is effectively at war with Russia. Nuray noted that the concept of strategic autonomy encompasses not only security but also the economy and energy. Seyrek pointed out that trust in China has especially decreased after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nuray underlined that the EU aims to shift production to reliable partner countries in strategic areas such as health, communication, and valuable minerals. Seyrek also emphasized that a strategically autonomous EU would be difficult to achieve without the contributions of the UK and Türkiye. Nuray stressed the importance of the EU's climate policies but noted that the EU's security should not be overlooked. Seyrek concluded by stating that any softening in climate policies might be related to EU realities rather than the far-right.
As the final speaker of the webinar, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas began her remarks by emphasizing that the EU is still undergoing a challenging period from a macro perspective following the elections. Nas noted that the EU aims to adapt, stay ahead, and maintain a leadership position, and it remains persistent in this goal. Nas stated that the EU has long been defined as a civil power, but recent developments have complicated this role, as the EU is assisting a country where a war is actively ongoing for the first time. Nas suggested that this evolving nature of the EU might lead to new challenges, citing the candidacies of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia as examples that could complicate decision-making processes within an expanded EU. Discussing the difficulties of the new era, Nas highlighted the implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, pointing out that despite public reactions, the Green Deal has not been eliminated. When mentioning Hungary's upcoming Presidency of the EU Council, Nas described it as a contradiction, considering Hungary's risk of deviating from EU values. Nas indicated that maintaining a firm stance against Russia might be difficult due to Hungary's pro-Russia profile, stressing the need for Hungary to work in coordination with Belgium and Poland. Lastly, Nas emphasized the significance of the upcoming elections in France and Germany concerning the far-right.
The webinar ended with a Q&A session.
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