On 11 January 2021, IKV hosted a webinar entitled “A New Era with the UK after Brexit and the EU”. Delivering the opening speech at the webinar, which was moderated by IKV Deputy Secretary General M. Gökhan Kilit, IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu expressed his satisfaction with the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement for ending uncertainty and preventing a “hard Brexit”. However, he said that despite the agreement the UK could still lose 6.4% of its GDP. Zeytinoğlu pointed out that the Turkey-UK Free Trade Agreement signed on 29 December 2020 was UK's fifth trade agreement and its first trade agreement after Brexit. Referring to the Turkey-UK FTA as an important opportunity for Turkey, Zeytinoğlu indicated that with the review foreseen within two years, the agreement could be expanded into new areas which would further increase bilateral economic cooperation. He also expressed hope about visa liberalisation and underscored the need for Turkey to make the necessary steps in this regard. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu concluded his remarks by stressing that that the upcoming European Council meeting scheduled for 25-26 March would be critical for the future of Turkey-EU relations.

The webinar continued with a panel discussion on the future of UK-EU relations and Turkey-UK relations. In the panel session, Head of the Directorate General for EU Affairs at the Ministry of Trade Elif Gürsoy provided detailed information about the process leading to the Turkey-UK FTA. TOBB and IKV Brussels Representative Haluk Nuray analysed the implications of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the modernisation of the Turkey-EU Customs Union. Prof. Sanem Baykal from TOBB University of Economics and Technology approached the UK-EU Agreement from a legal point of view and talked about the problems which might arise in the implementation of the agreement. Finally, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas discussed the importance of the agreement ending the Brexit saga for the future of EU integration and the implications of Brexit on EU’s external action.