IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas attended the committee meeting on “Strengthening EU Economic Security”, organised under the External Relations Section of the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels on 24 March 2026.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), which represents employers, workers and civil society organisations in the EU, introduced the “Enlargement Candidate Member” initiative during the previous presidency of Oliver Röpke. Under this initiative, selected civil society organisations from candidate countries are invited to EESC committee meetings and contribute their views. The initiative, which enables candidate countries to participate in and contribute to one of the EU’s key bodies, has continued under the new President Séamus Boland. During the committee meeting, Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas contributed to the draft text prepared by the rapporteur. She emphasised the importance of external partner, particularly Türkiye, in ensuring the EU’s economic security and underlined the need to update the Customs Union relationship.