On 16 April 2019, the first panel of the IKV’s project entitled “New Perspectives on Turkey-EU Relations” was organised at Bahçeşehir University. The panel had the title of “Where Are We in Turkey-EU Relations and Where Are We Going?” and was held with the financial support of Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

The opening speech of the panel was delivered by Prof. Ebru Canan-Sokullu, Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Bahçeşehir University. The speakers of the panel were IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas; Assoc. Prof. Erhan Doğan, Vice Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Marmara University; Assoc. Prof. Özge Zihnioğlu from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Bahçeşehir University and Assoc. Prof. Yonca Özer, Chair of the Department of European Politics and International Relations at Marmara University. The panel was moderated by IKV Research Director Çisel İleri.

Following the opening speech, Assoc. Prof. Özge Zihnioğlu stated that from 1999 until 2004 Turkey took important steps in line with the EU objective. Similarly, after the AKP government took office in 2002, the relations with the EU were prioritised for 5-6 years. Today, although there is a strong positive perception regarding the EU membership in Turkey, the situation is not at the desired level in the EU. Subsequently, Assoc. Prof. Erhan Doğan shared his views on Turkey’s economic development model of import substitution industrialisation in order to minimise imports and to create a national industrial class during the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Assoc. Prof. Doğan continued that afterwards in the 1980s, a model for a liberal economy was adopted to increase exports and to integrate Turkish economy to the world better.

Third speaker of the panel Assoc. Prof. Ciğdem Nas narrated the historical development of EU-Turkey Statement regarding the refugees. Lastly, Assoc. Prof. Yonca Özer explained the reasons of the modernisation of the Turkey-EU Customs Union by touching upon the developments in international trade, the Union’s FTA’s, asymmetrical relations stemming from Turkey’s contradictory situation to comply with the EU’s trade policy against the third countries but not to have a say in its formation along with other structural problems of the Customs Union.

In the second part of the panel, Assoc. Prof. Özge Zihnioğlu gave information regarding the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). Then, Assoc. Prof. Erhan Doğan discussed Brexit as one of the most acute challenges of the EU in the current conjuncture. Afterwards, Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas drew attention to the rise of populism and EU scepticism in the EU and the world. Finally, Assoc. Prof. Yonca Özer explained the causes why Turkey needs to be insistent upon the modernisation of the Customs Union. At the end of the panel, questions of the students were answered by the speakers and then IKV publications were distributed.