IKV organized a meeting on 18 October 2024, bringing together Turkish-Hungarian academics and officials to discuss EU enlargement and Türkiye-EU relations, in cooperation with Hungary’s leading think tank, MCC Centre for European Studies (Mathias Corvinus Collegium-MCC). The meeting was hosted by the MCC Center for European Studies in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, on the occasion of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, within the framework of IKV’s project titled “Presidencies of the EU Council and Türkiye’s EU Accession Process”.

The opening speeches of the meeting titled “EU Merit-Based Enlargement: Utopian, Dystopian, or Simply Realistic?” were delivered by Head of Centre for European Studies MCC Budapest Rodrigo Ballester, IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu and Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Hungary Gülşen Karanis Ekşioğlu.

In his opening remarks, IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu emphasized that European integration is a key achievement of the 21st century and noted that merit-based enlargement unites candidate countries around common goals while contributing to the EU’s security and the search for strategic autonomy. Pointing out that Türkiye has a vital role in this context, Chairperson Zeytinoğlu emphasized the need to revitalize the accession process.

In her speech, Turkish Ambassador to Budapest Gülşen Karanis Ekşioğlu welcomed Hungary’s support for Türkiye’s EU accession process and emphasized that membership to the Union remains a strategic priority for Türkiye. Ambassador Karanis Ekşioğlu also said that enlargement is among the key priorities of the Hungarian EU Presidency and that she is pleased to see Hungary supporting a merit-based, balanced and credible enlargement policy.

The first session titled “Who's Next, If Any? -Identifying Potential Candidates for Future EU Enlargement” was moderated by MCC Researcher Damille Devenyi and the speakers were Professor of International Relations and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Literature at Istanbul Aydin University Prof. Tarık Oğuzlu, MCC Visiting Fellow and Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University International Relations Department Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın and Head of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and Enlargement Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Dr. László Dux.

The second session titled “Different Speeds to Avoid a Crash - Is an EU À la Carte the Only Way to Keep It United?” was moderated by Director at MCC Noémi Pálfalvi, and the speakers were Faculty Member at TOBB University of Economics and Technology Prof. Sanem Baykal, Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Professor of International Relations and Jean Monnet chair at Sabanci University Prof. Meltem Müftüler Baç, Head of the MCC Center for European Studies Rodrigo Ballester and Director for Strategy, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Dr. Tamás Péter Baranyi.

During the meeting sessions, the requirements of the enlargement process, which is at the top of the EU agenda, the different needs of the candidate countries and the possibility of a merit-based accession process were discussed. Experts and officials debated in depth the approaches to the multifaceted and diverse demands of a structure such as the EU and the problems related to the process.

In his closing remarks, IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu thanked everyone who contributed to the preparation of the meeting which aims to support the Türkiye-EU accession negotiations process.

IKV aims to contribute to the Türkiye-EU accession negotiations process with the “Presidencies of the EU Council and Türkiye’s EU Accession Process Project”, which is organized in the capital of each EU member state that takes over the EU Presidency.

IKV, which has constantly emphasized the importance of communication strategy in Türkiye’s EU accession process, has expanded its Brussels-based activities for the EU and continues its efforts to better understand Türkiye’s accession negotiations process and to raise awareness among EU citizens on this issue by organizing meetings in other EU countries.