IKV Istanbul EU Information Centre organised a series of seminars and concerts in cooperation with Marmara University EU Institute on 7-11 May 2018 within the scope of activities entitled "European Week". Marmara University Atatürk Faculty of Education Department of Music Teaching Choir’s performance enchanted the audience on 7 May 2018.

In his opening speech, Vice Rector Prof. Recep Bozdoğan expressed that the EU was born as a peace project following two world wars. Bozdoğan stressed that Turkey has been in a close contact with the EU for the last 60 years, which is the biggest economic and political integration comprised of 500 million people and the best example shown in fundamental rights/freedom area in the world.

In the second session, Prof. Hüseyin Nazlıkul delivered a speech entitled “Exploring Life in the EU and Living a Healthy Life”. While drawing notice to the EU’s health policies, service delivery and their importance, Nazlıkul gave brief information regarding free movement of health workers. He expressed that despite their differences on health systems and policies, EU Member States have a standard in some common principles and pointed out that protective and preventive medicine is evaluated within the common principles.

The second day of the panel began with the presentation of the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst - DAAD) on “Higher Education and Scholarship Opportunities in Germany”. While briefing the types of universities in Germany, DAAD representative Murat Kemaloğlu listed the conditions for applying for bachelor, master and doctorate programs generally. Kemaloğlu recommended different searching pages for students to find programs related to their field of interest and he drew attention to the important points to pay attention during registration and visa application processes.

The next session of the panel started with the participation of Undersecretary of the Ministry for EU Affairs Ambassador Selim Yenel as panelist. Yenel expressed that he has always been acting with the intention of not letting relations with the EU deteriorate further since he has been appointed to Brussels in 2011, and continued his words by touching upon the restlessness which had occurred in 2015 as a result of Arab Spring and the crises encountered in the wake of the Syrian Civil War. While stating that the EU encountered a major crisis in the wake of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s announcement that she will accept 1 million refugees in the summer of 2015, he took attention to the fact that the agreements include the modernisation of the Customs Union, the opening of chapters and even financial aids however not the migration issue.

On the last day of the activities, IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, IKV Vice Chairman Prof. Halûk Kabaalioğlu and IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas participated as panelists. Chairman Zeytinoğlu took the floor firstly at Prof. Halûk Kabaalioğlu’s moderation, and expressed that Turkey’s absence at the decision making process for FTAs causes a great damage to Turkish side and its industry. He also remarked that the countries that have signed FTAs with the EU do not accede to a parallel agreement with Turkey. While expressing that Turkish goods are subject to quotas and measures of equivalent effect in some Member States such as Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria as opposed to free movement of goods, Ayhan Zeytinoğlu pointed at the modernisation of the Customs Union as an ultimate resolution for the transportation issues which are submitted to the CJEU currently.

Following IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu’s speech, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas started her speech by mentioning the history of IKV and the activities of IKV Istanbul EU Information Centre. Nas remarked the presence of hope that the negotiations could be revitalised in 2017, and IKV’s meetings aiming the preparation of sector representatives for comprehensive and capable negotiations and illuminating them about the graveness of the process in nearly 60 provinces. However, she also explained that the Customs Union process has not been advancing for political reasons and she has been worried with regards to this issue. Nas stated that “continental partnership” option has been brought to the table as an alternative to the full membership; however she underlined that this situation is far from satisfactory.