The Economic Development Foundation (IKV) organised a meeting titled “The Roadmap for Türkiye–EU Relations and the Role of IKV” on 12 December 2025.
The opening presentations of the meeting, introduced by IKV Deputy Secretary General M. Gökhan Kilit, were delivered by IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the European Union, Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay.

IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu began his remarks by referring to the mission that IKV has undertaken since its establishment in 1965 under the leadership of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, as well as to former chairpersons who left their mark on the Foundation’s history. Chairperson Zeytinoğlu stated that although the accession process appears to have been de facto frozen in recent years for political reasons, IKV continues to keep Türkiye’s membership objective alive and to defend Türkiye’s positions. Referring to the economic importance of the EU for Türkiye, Chairperson Zeytinoğlu underlined the weight of Europe in Türkiye’s foreign trade and pointed out that the country has built a strong production capacity thanks to the customs union, but emphasized that, within the current framework, it has become necessary to resolve accumulated problems and to update the customs union so as to cover areas such as agriculture, services, and public procurement. Chairperson Zeytinoğlu noted that it is not sustainable for trade to be conducted largely by road transport, stating that rail transport needs to be strengthened and that the EU’s support for certain railway projects in Türkiye is important in this respect. In the final part of his speech, Chairperson Zeytinoğlu characterized visa liberalisation as a “non-tariff barrier,” stated that visa procedures impose serious cost and time pressure on the business community, that Türkiye has fulfilled the majority of the criteria required for visa liberalisation, and that it is important to achieve progress on the remaining items.

Deputy Minister Of Foreign Affairs And Director For EU Affairs, Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay, stated that the vulnerabilities deepened after the 2008 financial crisis and the 2015 refugee crisis have been exacerbated by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, and that in this picture the EU is caught between protectionism and connectivity and has turned towards more mercantilist policies under competitive pressure. Drawing attention to the importance of reliable partners in overcoming this dilemma, Ambassador Bozay stated that Türkiye stands out as a factor of stability in many fields such as Black Sea security and supply chains and that Türkiye’s role will be decisive in establishing peace in Ukraine. Noting that work will continue on six criteria regarding visa liberalisation, Ambassador Bozay underlined that the visa-facilitating arrangements of 15 July 2025 can provide only limited relief and that the ultimate goal is full visa liberalisation. Ambassador Bozay stated that, although a difficult timetable can be expected during the presidency of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, contacts with the EU will continue.

The special address of the meeting titled “IKV’s 60-Year Journey: An Assessment” was delivered by IKV Vice-Chairperson Prof. Halûk Kabaalioğlu. Prof. Halûk Kabaalioğlu stated that Türkiye’s relations with what was then called the EEC were not advanced in an unplanned manner, as some circles claim, but that the will to take part in European integration was in fact recorded as a state policy. Prof. Kabaalioğlu described the inability to respond simultaneously to Greece’s 1975 application due to the political climate as one of the key turning points in the relationship. Opening a special parenthesis on the role of Retired Ambassador Tevfik Saraçoğlu in IKV’s institutionalisation process, Prof. Kabaalioğlu stated that Saraçoğlu carried out important work to raise awareness in the Turkish private sector on the Common Market and to guide public opinion accurately. Drawing attention to the fact that IKV has assumed the mission of a school, Prof. Kabaalioğlu stated that many civil servants, academics, and private sector representatives, including today’s Minister of Trade Prof. Ömer Bolat, were trained within IKV and that the Foundation serves as a centre that meets Türkiye’s need for EU experts.

In the first panel titled “How Can We Overcome the Blockages in Türkiye’s EU Process? The Role of Civil Society and Think Tanks,” moderated by IKV Vice-Chairperson Prof. Halûk Kabaalioğlu, the first speaker was Nilgün Arısan Eralp, Director of the TEPAV European Studies Centre. Eralp underlined that, despite the EU’s narrative as a “peace project,” it has not contributed sufficiently to the solution of the Cyprus issue, particularly after 2004, and that the membership approach and the Annan Plan process, even without a solution, have deepened today’s blockage. Eralp stated that the EU is no longer the old EU and that the institutions no longer produce strong reactions against human rights and international law violations.

The second speaker of the panel, Director of Istanbul Policy Center Prof. Senem Aydın Düzgit, stated that Türkiye–EU relations have long been blocked, especially on the political level, and that there is a marked reluctance and silence regarding Türkiye in EU capitals. Prof. Düzgit underlined that in this environment, despite the shrinking civic space, civil society and think tanks have become even more critical and that societal contacts and transnational cooperation need to be preserved. Prof. Düzgit also stated that civil society should draw its motivation, independently of the political conjuncture, from the mission of sustaining dialogue between societies and defending common interests with a 15–20 year perspective.

The final speaker of the panel, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas, underlined that although Türkiye–EU relations are difficult and multi-layered, they retain their strategic importance and that, for this reason, the membership objective should be kept alive even if it appears distant. Assoc. Prof. Nas stated that while IKV explains this objective to the public, it also continues its work on concrete agendas such as the modernisation of the customs union, visa liberalisation, and high-level dialogues. Assoc. Prof. Nas stated that in a period when disinformation is widespread, producing accurate information and creating a qualified platform for debate is a core task of civil society. Emphasising that, due to the risk of Türkiye losing its place in Europe and the rapid transformation of the Single Market along the axes of digital and green transitions in the EU, there is no luxury of waiting, Assoc. Prof. Nas underlined that the need for alignment and capacity building in these areas has increased.

In the second panel titled “The Changing Structure of the EU and the Evolution of the Institutional Architecture: Türkiye’s Place in the EU’s Future,” moderated by IPC Advisory Board Member Prof. Atila Eralp, the first speaker was Prof. Zeynep Alemdar, Director of the Foreign Policy Program at EDAM. Prof. Alemdar, describing the current state of the global system as the disorder of disorder, stated that states and international organisations are acting with reflexes of survival and adaptation rather than building a new order. Emphasising that Türkiye’s role has gained vital importance in the security architecture that has changed after the war in Ukraine, Prof. Alemdar stated that Türkiye occupies an indispensable position in terms of energy security, Middle Corridor connectivity, and cooperation in the Black Sea. Noting that Türkiye–EU relations have historically been revitalised in times of crisis when Türkiye’s strategic importance is recalled, Prof. Alemdar stated that, despite economic difficulties, Türkiye’s role as a security provider is the strongest basis for the future of the relationship.

The second speaker of the panel, Prof. Başak Alpan, underlined that since the 2004 enlargement the EU has faced its greatest institutional challenge and that, in this picture, geoeconomics has become as decisive as geopolitics. Stating that concrete financial and strategic instruments such as the “Ukraine Facility” for Ukraine and the “Growth Plan” for the Western Balkans have been developed, but that no similar future perspective or policy instrument has been offered for Türkiye, Prof. Alpan stated that Türkiye needs a new narrative and a concrete framework in its relations with the EU. Touching also on debates about a shift of axis in Türkiye’s foreign policy, Prof. Alpan stated that China and Russia do not constitute an economic alternative to the EU perspective. Prof. Alpan underlined that the rare earth element reserves in Beylikova, Eskişehir, could play a critical role in the EU’s strategy to reduce its dependence on China and that this area could offer a new ground for cooperation in the relationship.

The final speaker of the panel, Assoc. Prof. Ebru Turhan, stated that EU integration is no longer shaped solely by economic competition and the logic of the Single Market, but by a profound geopolitical and geoeconomic transformation. She stated that, particularly in the process that became more pronounced after the 2008 crisis and accelerated with the Russia–Ukraine war, the boundaries between internal differentiated integration and external differentiated integration in the EU have begun to blur. Addressing the notion of transactionalism in Türkiye–EU relations, Assoc. Prof. Turhan stated that the relationship has increasingly settled on a ground that is interest-driven, short-term, and based on intergovernmental bargaining. While acknowledging that this is an inevitable global trend, Assoc. Prof. Turhan stated that transactionalism must not remain confined only to the level of governments, but must reach societies and must not become completely detached from normative values.