IKV organised a webinar entitled "EU as a Trade Actor, Global Value Chains and Türkiye" on 28 June 2022 as part of the Future of Europe and Türkiye Webinar Series carried out in association with Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs Directorate for EU Affairs. The opening speeches of the webinar, which was moderated by IKV Deputy Secretary General M. Gökhan Kilit until the panel session, were delivered by IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı.

In his opening speech, IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu stated that a new growth model has been introduced within the framework of the twin transformation and that the new norms and standards which the EU will implement in this direction will also transform trade relations between Türkiye and the EU.

Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu began his opening speech by mentioning the existence of a long-standing relationship between Türkiye and the EU. Tuzcu stated that global problems should be answered globally. Finally, Tuzcu stated that the modernisation of the Customs Union is not an option but a necessity, and that it would be beneficial for both sides.

Delivering the last opening speech, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Kaymakcı underscored that world trade has faced major problems, especially due to the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Stating that modernisation of the Customs Union will bring benefits to Türkiye and the EU to combat the negative effects of the pandemic and the war, Ambassador Kaymakcı stated that the time has come for the EU to take bold steps.

The webinar continued with the special address session. Mentioning that the EU is one of Türkiye’s most important trade and investment partners, Deputy Director General of Ministry of Trade Bahar Güçlü stated in her speech that she believes that Türkiye's integration into the global value chain and being included in a fair competition environment will increase synchronisation. Speaking after Güçlü, Head of Unit at European Commission's DG Trade Nele Eichhorn pointed out that with the Customs Union, Türkiye has been an important trading partner of the EU for years but, there are also serious concerns about the implementation of the Customs Union and the EU is trying to resolve them.

Following the opening speeches, the webinar continued with a panel discussion which was moderated by IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas. In the panel session, Visiting Associate in LSE International Trade Policy Unit Dr. Stephen Woolcock, TEPAV Director of G20 Studies Center Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sait Akman, CEPS Senior Researcher Milan Elkerbout, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar İpek from TOBB University of Economics and Technology shared their views on the impact of the pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war on global value chains, EU policies against disruptions in global value chains, the global energy problems, Türkiye's position in global value chains, and the future of Türkiye-EU trade relations.