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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ayca Aydogdu (Moderator): our first part of the series exploring Turkey's relationship with the European Union. Our Dear Ladies and gentlemen, our distinguished question for today, can the EU and Turkey find guests, I would like to welcome you all today to the way forward? And the second and third our panel on the future of Turkey and EU series of this panel will also be held in May and relations. I am Ayca Aydogdu, international June. So let me briefly introduce my guests, news presenter at TRT World and will be your Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and moderator for this evening. Briefly, let me Director for EU Affairs, Ambassador Faruk introduce our host, The Circle Foundation is a Kaymakci, Director for External Relations at the non-profit independent think-tank based in Secretary General of the European London dedicated to Turkey-UK relations and Commission, Michael Karnitschnig, international issues concerning Turkey. It is Ambassador Michael Sahlin, Distinguished undeniable to say having faced a global crisis Associate Fellow with a SIPRI European such as the Covid-19 pandemic, now a year on Security Programme, a former state secretary in the world suddenly will be fundamentally the Defence Ministry of Sweden and also a different from what it was and whether this will former ambassador to Turkey and the Secretary be a turning point in history. This will only be told General of the Economic Development in time, but one thing is for certain. Global Foundation, associate Professor at the Yildiz cooperation is a must to survive the long lasting Technical University Department of Political damages of this pandemic. And whatever Science and International Relations, Cigdem question we ask today, whether it is migration, Nas and Visiting Professor at the College of economy or environment, it is in the midst of a Europe. Non-resident Scholar at the Middle pandemic, all countries share a common East Institute Dr. Emiliana Alessandri, all of you, attitude and that is maintaining stability. It has welcome once again. So our panel first will start now been two decades since Turkey became a off with speeches from each guest and move on candidate for membership for the European to a roundtable discussion. And finally, we will Union. Certainly it has been a rocky be taking your questions to our guests. And I relationship, but watching the dialogue over the now kindly invite the Deputy Minister of Foreign 15 years of my journalism career, one can say Affairs of Turkey and Director EU affairs no matter how rocky it is, Turkey and EU have Ambassador Kaymakci to address to the floor. inseparable ties. And certainly this week has significance. After the official visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Ambassador Faruk Kaymakci: and the European Council President Charles Thank you, Ayca Hanim, Enes bey, and thank Michel to Ankara after the meeting with Turkish you to the Circle foundation. And I see many President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The words friends, including Michael from Brussels, but used were a new momentum. Now, this will be also former Ambassador Michael, Cigdem 11 hanim and Emiliano from my famous College of were unfortunately blocked unilaterally by this. Europe. So I would like to greet all the panellists And the opportunity is a Win-Win situation. We as well as all the participants. have a customs union which dates back from 1995. So we have already some You ask a very simple question. And I think my implementation in the best interests of both answer will be very simple. The way forward is, sides that our current customs union is very there is already enshrined in the 18 March limited to only industrial products and statement of 2016. 18 March includes six pillars. processed agricultural products. So we need to The first pillar is the accession perspective of update the Customs Union. And I strongly Turkey. So for us, believe that in the course of the pandemic Our relations with the EU are period of modernisation of the customs union would be one of the best remedies. Concerning based on the accession. I do the fourth pillar of the 18 March statement. I not think that anyone should would like to say that we need more cooperation see Turkey as a country with on counter-terrorism, which is clearly expressed by both sides in 2015 and 2016 Turkey-EU which the EU or others can Summit. But unfortunately, the EU side only have transactional relations on sees this from the DAESH perspective and from the foreign terrorist fighters perspective. But of the daily needs. This is not the course, for Turkey fighting equally, the PKK, way that we see. So our PYD, YPG as well as FETO Network principal aim is the accession. organisation, it is vital. So we want to see concrete steps from our allies in the rest of We want to get fair treatment in Europe to cooperate. Turkey with sincerely and the accession process with the I think this is one of the reasons why we have some sort of lack of confidence between Turkey other candidate countries. and the rest of Europe. Of course, visa The second pillar of the 18 March statement is liberalisation was another dimension, another to have regular High-Level Dialogue meetings, pillar in the 18 March statement. I think it is high which are there already on transport, energy, time that Turkish citizens should be enjoyed economy, foreign policy, counter-terrorism, already visa free travel to the Schengen zone. security. Turkey has been an associate member Turkey is the only country in Europe which is still of the European Union since 1963. So we have excluded from this system. I am not counting also the association council, which should not Kosovo yet because Kosovo is in the final be blocked for political reasons. Unfortunately, process, but otherwise among candidate all this high level dialogue, meetings, countries that Turkey is the only country. Of association council and Turkey-EU summit 12 course, there are some benchmarks we made the Syrians. I can say that so far these irregular already a lot of progress. The remaining six migration crisis costs more than 40 billion Euros benchmarks should not be a major issue. But I in Turkey alone. So I think we have to be fair also believe that the visa free travel will increase and we have to share the burden all together. trade, tourism, services and people to people The third promise, the voluntary humanitarian contact. So this is why we have to also make admission scheme, which was proposed by the progress on visa liberalisation. In terms of EU side, unfortunately, this was blocked by few migration, unfortunately, EU is more selective. member states, so the EU could not keep its They are only focusing on migration promise there. And the fourth promise was to management. And everyone clearly sees that cooperate in northern Syria. The cooperation Turkey is taking the most the burden off of between Turkey, the EU and the member states Europe in terms of not only Syrians, by the way, to enable better humanitarian conditions, but but also other Asians whose population has also to enable voluntary and secure returns. now reached almost half a million. In Turkey, we Unfortunately, EU did not do much. And also have 4.2 million so-called migrants or refugees. you criticised our three operations that we had Our cooperation is vital. And the EU has given to conduct in northern Syria, which enabled 435 us four promises. We realized our two thousand people to go back to northern Syria, commitments, which was the prevention of to their villages, to their houses. So when EU irregular migration. Right now, I can say it is 92 started criticising us on these three operations percent success. And also in terms of one to and also threatening to put embargo on arms one deal basically taking and those irregular sales towards a NATO ally, Turkey said, okay migrants who went illegally to the Greek islands. from now on, I will look at the 18 March So Turkey also has kept her promise. We have migration deal from a different point of view. And received all the people who were returned from this is where we are. So during this visit, we the Greek islands until February 2020. But on discussed all these six pillars. EU, again, is very the EU side, the EU kept its promise in terms of selective. The EU wants to go on cooperation one to one deal. So far, EU has taken more than with us unconditionally on migration issues. But 28 thousand people. This is fine. But when you when it comes to accession, no point is made. compare with 4.2 Million people in Turkey, I When it comes to counter-terrorism, we do not think you can make the difference yourself. In hear much from the EU side and when it comes terms of second commitment, financial to visa liberalisation, unfortunately, it is watered assistance, by the way, not to Turkey, but to the down as people to people dialogue and mobility. Syrians in Turkey. We were expecting the EU to But the proper name of this game is visa act fast and to contribute more. So out of this 6 liberalisation for Turkish citizens. I think we billion, only 4 billion were dispersed from the EU should be able to say this. A customs union, I pocket and only 3.7 billion Euros have reached think is not a favour given to Turkey, but it is a 13 win-win deal I think everyone will win.