Counsellor and Head of Section for Trade, Economy and Agriculture at Delegation of the EU to Turkey Balázs Gargya and Sector Manager for Internal Market and Industrial Policy at Delegation of the EU to Turkey Ela Yazıcı İnan visited IKV Chairman Ömer Cihad Vardan on the 4^th December 2014. IKV Secretary-General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas and IKV Deputy Secretary-General and Research Director Melih Özsöz also attended this meeting during which Turkey-EU Customs Union, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), visa liberalisation and Turkey-EU relations were discussed.

IKV Chairman Vardan informed the representatives from the Delegation about IKV and its activities. He also evaluated the latest developments about Customs Union and stressed its importance for the Turkish business community. Underlying that Turkey will be the most affected country by the TTIP once the negotiations are finalised between the EU and the US, Vardan stressed that the exclusion of Turkey from the negotiations is unacceptable. In this regard, referring to the World Bank’s report on EU-Turkey Customs Union, IKV Chairman Vardan underlined the need to deepen the Customs Union. Referring to the progress made with the roadmap of visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens, IKV Chairman stressed the importance of taking similar constructive initiatives in regards to the TTIP and the Customs Union.

Counsellor and Head of Section for Trade, Economy and Agriculture at Delegation of the EU to Turkey Balázs Gargya stressed the potentials benefits presented by the Turkey-EU Customs Union and the need to make further efforts to progress in problematic areas. In this sense, he underlined that deepening the Customs Union in accordance with the current needs will not only help to improve Turkey-EU relations but also to overcome potential negative effects of TTIP on Turkey. Counsellor Gargya also mentioned their hope to finalise visa liberalisation dialogue. Underlying the ongoing meetings between Turkey and the EU in the aftermath of World Bank’s report, Counsellor Gargya touched upon the continuation of uncertainty with regard to TTIP negotiations between the EU and the US.

IKV Secretary-General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas informed the participants about the FTA Information and Capacity Building Center that was established with the support of IKV Founders and Trustees and expressed her wish to enhance their cooperation with the European Commission in regards to FTAs and TTIP. IKV Deputy Secretary-General and Research Director Melih Özsöz also informed the participants about some of IKV latest researches, “First Evaluation Report Regarding Visa Liberalisation with Turkey” and “Mathematics of Progress: A Different Look at the European Commission’s Turkey Progress Reports” that was published in November 2014.