The Future of EU-Turkey Relations

Both the European Union and Turkey face mounting challenges in relation to one another but also internationally. After the failed coup in in 2016, Turkish President Erdogan consolidated his position of power at the helm of the Turkish institutional system under the revised Turkish constitution. At the same time, the increasing persecution of political dissenters in the aftermath of the attempted coup deepened the severe crisis of the EU-Turkish relations even further and caused profound concerns among Western countries not only about the Turkish state of democracy and the situation of human rights but also about Turkey’s commitment to transatlantic alliances. The recent developments presented a major blow to Turkey’s perspective of EU membership which were attempted to re-energize over the EU-Turkey deal on migration.

Despite all the difficulties, several politicians on both sides continue to still emphasise the importance of EU-Turkish partnership while facing global challenges such as common refugee and strategic security issues. In order to fathom whether there can still be optimism for EU-Turkish reconciliation and how it could be achieved, the EU Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung invited young Turkish professionals to Brussels to discuss and analyse dynamics of the EU-Turkish relationship, substantiate further scenarios and examine possible repercussions.

Contact: Marco.Schwarz(at)fes-europe.eu