The third panel of the series titled “New Perspectives in Turkey-EU Relations”, of which the first was organised in Istanbul and the second in Brussels, was held in Antalya on 18 April 2016 in cooperation of IKV and Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Following the opening speech of the panel given by Akdeniz University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Head of International Relations Department Prof. Dr. Şenol Kantarcı, IKV Junior Researcher Büşra Çatır made a presentation of the studies published by IKV on the European Commission Progress Reports titled “Mathematics of Progress” and “Linguistics of Progress”. During the panel discussion, which was moderated by IKV Project Director Çisel İleri, Marmara University Faculty of Political Sciences Political Science and International Relations Department Lecturer Assoc. Prof. Erhan Doğan, IKV Secretary-General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas, Marmara University European Union Institute Head of Department of EU Politics and International Relations Assoc. Prof. Yonca Özer and Hürriyet Daily News Journalist Barçın Yinanç shared their views on the latest developments in Turkey and the EU and the future of Turkey-EU relations.

In the first round of the panel, reminding that the dialogue regarding the refugee crisis has strengthened between the two parties since the Turkey-EU Summit on 29 November 2015, IKV Project Director Çisel İleri asked the discussants to share their ideas on the effects of the dialogue between Turkey and the EU since November 2015 on the Turkey-EU relations. In her assessment with regard to Turkey-EU refugee deal, Marmara University European Union Institute Head of Department of EU Politics and International Relations Assoc. Prof. Yonca Özer mentioned that the deal can be criticised taken into account together with the nature of Turkey-EU relations. Underlining that Turkey is a candidate country to the EU and the need to strengthen the focus on the accession negotiations, Özer mentioned that both parties approach the problems faced from a pragmatic perspective due to recent developments. Özer also highlighted the need for progress within the framework of Chapters 23 and 24 to ensure the sustainability of the dialogue between the parties.

In her assessment of the Turkey-EU refugee deal, Hürriyet Daily News Journalist Barçın Yinanç stressed that the recent developments should be considered as positive since Turkey-EU relations has always been different from the relations with other candidate countries. For this reason, she added that the refugee deal should be considered as a positive development considering that there was hardly any dialogue between the parties since 2010. Yinanç also highlighted that the demand for revitalizing the accession negotiations along with the financial aid towards refugees shows that accession process is still important for Turkey.

Marmara University Faculty of Political Sciences Political Science and International Relations Department Lecturer Assoc. Prof. Erhan Doğan mentioned that the crisis the EU faces recently stemmed from high number of refugees trying to cross Europe through Aegean Sea route in summer 2015 and the EU did not have efficient mechanism to prevent such a situation. Reminding that the most rational choice for the EU has been to cooperate with Turkey on the issue, Doğan underlined that the reciprocal demands originates from the nature of the negotiation process between the parties.

In her assessment for the question regarding the visa liberalisation towards Turkish citizens in June 2016, IKV Secretary-General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas reminded that the process with regard to visa liberalisation has started in 2013 with the signing of the Readmission agreement between Turkey and the EU. Underlining that Turkey has only one month to fulfil the criteria determined by the European Commission for visa liberalisation, Nas mentioned that the Commission will publish the third report on progress regarding visa liberalisation roadmap in May 2016. Nas also highlighted that although Turkey has limited time to fulfil all criteria, the European Commission is expected to assess Turkey’s progress with more tolerance due to severity of the situation with regard to refugee crisis.

In the second round of the panel during which the future of Turkey-EU relations was discussed, Marmara University Faculty of Political Sciences Political Science and International Relations Department Lecturer Assoc. Prof. Erhan Doğan reminded the positive correlation between the dialogue between Turkey and the EU and the security risks and crises. Underlining the recent multiple crises the EU faces recently such as sustainability of the welfare state, EU’s inability to reduce the inequalities among Member States as well as the lack of finalisation of the supranational structure, Doğan mentioned that Turkey’s accession to the Union could be an important leverage as a solution to such crises. Doğan also highlighted that the EU should redefine itself in which Turkey should also take part in.

IKV Secretary-General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas underlined the interdependency between Turkey and the EU despite the recent ineffectiveness of the accession negotiations due to political blockages on the negotiation chapters. She also highlighted that the relations between Turkey and the EU proceeds with the modernisation of the Customs Union and visa liberalisation dialogue along with the accession negotiations while these processes could also lead to better implementation of the EU’s transformative power in Turkey in economic and political arena as well as contributing to Turkey’s integration with the EU. In this process, Nas added that Turkey should define its relations with the EU from the perspective of accession negotiations and as part of the EU rather than solely depending on the short term interests.

Hürriyet Daily News Journalist Barçın Yinanç asserted that the future of Turkey-EU relations depends on the self-definition of the parties. Reminding that Turkey should approach social and societal problems objectively in this process, Yinanç highlighted that Turkey should build its relations with the EU on the basis of universal values such as rule of law and respect to fundamental human rights rather than considering these values as imposed by the EU.

Lastly, in her assessment on the future of Turkey-EU relations Marmara University European Union Institute Head of Department of EU Politics and International Relations Assoc. Prof. Yonca Özer stated that the EU accession process is irreversible for Turkey and Turkey should not search for alternatives to the EU in the future. Underlining that Turkey should seek the ways to improve its relations with the EU, Özer highlighted that further progress in relations depends on Cyprus issue, strengthening of the reform process in Turkey and revitalisation of the accession negotiations.