INSITER Study Visit Continued with Meetings in Brussels

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The annual INSITER study trip of the Turkish-German University’s MA programme “European and International Affairs” (MEIA) continued with various interesting meetings in Brussels between June,11-16, 2017 , inter-alia with visits to the Permanent Delegation of Turkey to the EU, the European Parliament, Scottish Government EU Office, the Legal Services of the European Commission, the Directorate General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations and Andrew Duff, Former Member of the European Parliament. The Brussels visit was realized in close cooperation with the University of Cologne and Sciences Po and included students from University of Cologne, Sciences Po, Sorbonne University and Charles University Prague.

One of the highlights of the Brussels study visit has been the lively conversation with Ambassador Faruk Kaymakçı, Permanent Delegate of Turkey to the EU. During the talks, Ambassador Kaymakçı provided an overview of the history of relations between Turkey and the EU, identified the recent challenges with regard to Turkey’s EU accession process (including the Cyprus conflict) and emphasized the importance of reform of EU-Turkey Customs Union. The visit was also made public on the official Twitter page of Ambassador Kaymakçı.

Another highlight has been the guided tour of the European Parliament. The students had the opportunity to get information on the institutional structure of the European Parliament, political groups in the European Parliament and latest trends in the European political landscape, as well as were able to have a look at the plenary chamber.

INSITER Coordinator at TRIANGLE Workshop

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On June 8, 2017, INSITER Co-Coordinator Ebru Turhan participated in the TRIANGLE Workshop of CETEUS at the University of Cologne titled “Narratives and Perceptions on EU-Turkey Relations – A Differentiated Future?”. Turhan held a talk on “Opportunities and Challenges for Extended External and Internal Differentiated Integration between Turkey and the EU.” The workshop included other speakers such as Wolf-Ruthart Born, former Secretary of State, Bianca Benvenuti, IAI, Aras Lindh, Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Funda Tekin, CETEUS and Dicle Korkmaz, METU.

Visit to the Turkish Embassy in Paris and to the Turkish Delegation to the OECD

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The annual study trip of the Turkish-German University’s MA programme “European and International Affairs” (MEIA) continued with various interesting meetings in Paris, inter-alia with visits to the Turkish Embassy and the Turkish Delegation to the OECD. The study trip is realized within the framework of the INSITER, under the supervision of INSITER Co-coordinators, Asst. Prof. Dr. Ebru Turhan & Asst. Prof. Dr. Wulf Reiners. The students and the INSITER team are thankful for the warm welcome and the enlighthening exchanges.

On June 7, the MEIA delegation met with Erdem Tunçer, Premier Conseiller, Aslin Savran, Political Conseiller, and Özlem Nurdalı, Commercial Conseiller at the Turkish Embassy in Paris. The exchange focused on the latest developments concerning the political, economic and social relations between France and Turkey, the French position on Turkey’s EU accession process and the French domestic political landscape. The visit has also been documented on the Embassy’s social media presence (see here).

Another highlight of the Paris visit was the meeting with Ambassador Dr. Erdem Başçı, Permanent cartier lock bracelet price
Representative of Turkey to the OECD and the former Governor of the Turkish Central Bank on June 9. The talks with the Ambassador centered around the evolution of Turkey’s status within the OECD, Turkey’s impact on the institutional architecture, agenda-shaping and policy-making within the OECD. Beyond that the students could also discuss recent challenges and opportunities in the global economic governance and the future of EU-Turkey relations.

Start of the Study Visit to European Capitals

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On June 4, the annual INSITER study trip of the Turkish-German University’s MA programme “European and International Affairs” has officially started. The programme takes place in the framework of the INSITER project and is also supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In the next three weeks, it will take the students to Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Berlin to gather first-hand insights in European decision-making and EU-Turkey affairs. A draft of the full programme can be found here.

On June 6, the programme kicked-off with a meeting with Prof. Dr. Pascal Hector, deputy head of mission of the German embassy in Paris. The exchange was particularly interesting as Prof. Hector had also been involved in the setup of the Turkish-German University in his function as deputy head of mission of the German embassy in Ankara between 2009 and 2012. The students and the INSITER team are thankful for the warm welcome and the good discussions at the Embassy.

INSITER Co-Coordinator at the 31st IISES International Academic Conference in London

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From May 29 to 31, 2017, INSITER Co-Coordinator Ebru Turhan participated in the 31st IISES International Academic Conference in London. Turhan presented a conference paper titled “Domestication of Germany’s European Policy and German Leadership in the EU: The Cases of Eurozone Crisis and Refugee Crisis.”  Research for the conference contribution was  conducted in the framework of the INSITER project. The paper that was published within the framework of the conference proceedings can be found here.

Annual Conference Finalized

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The joint Conference “New political challenges for Germany, Turkey and the EU – 2017” which was organized by  INSITER in cooperation with the CETEUS / University of Cologne, the  Turkish-German University, FEUTURE Project and DAAD, took place on May 26, 2017 at the Turkish-German University.

The opening keynote speech was addressed by Saadet Oruç Senior Advisor to the President of the Turkish Republic and, following the speech three thematic panels related to EU-Turkey relations took place.

The first panel “Present and F(e)uture of EU-Turkey Relations (in cooperation with the FEUTURE project)” was chaired by Asst. Prof. Dr. Wulf Reiners (Turkish-German University). With the participation of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bahar Rumelili (Koç University), Doruk Ergun (Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies / EDAM, Istanbul), Asst. Prof. Dr. Ebru Turhan (Turkish-German University) and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wessels (CETEUS, University of Cologne) as panelists, Present and F(e)uture of EU-Turkey Relations was discussed in view of internal and external dynamics affecting both EU and Turkey.

The second panel “EU, Turkey and the Economy” was chaired Prof. Dr. Ferda Halıcıoğlu (Medeniyet University). With the participation of Prof. Dr. Martin Klein (University Halle-Wittenberg), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çigdem Nas (Economic Development Foundation Istanbul), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Nuroglu (Turkish-German University) and Asst. Prof. Dr. Emre Çekin (Turkish-German University) the economic aspect of Turkey-EU relations was  discussed.

The third panel “New Actors, New System, New Era? World Politics 2017” was chaired by Asst. Prof. Dr. Enes Bayrakli (Turkish- German University). With the participation of  Prof. Dr. Atila Eralp (METU), Asst. Prof. Dr. Deniz Kuru (Turkish- German University) Johannes Müller Gomez (CETEUS, University of Cologne) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimitris Tsarouhas (Bilkent University) the dynamic relation between the globalization and international system was discussed.

Finally with the concluding remarks of the INSITER Co-Coordinators Asst. Prof. Dr. Ebru Turhan (Turkish-German University) and Asst. Prof. Dr. Wulf Reiners (Turkish-German University), the “Conference Findings” session ended.

Please click here for the program.

Meeting of the INSITER Advisory and Steering Board

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On May 25, 2017 the second meeting of the INSITER Advisory and Steering Board took place in the premises of the Istanbul Policy Centre in Istanbul. The meeting served the purpose to jointly reflect on the programme implementation in the first nine project months and on the planning of upcoming project activities, such as the study trip to Paris and Berlin and the international simulation exercise in Brussels.

INSITER-IPC Roundtable in Istanbul

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In coordination with the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC), INSITER organized INSITER- IPC Roundtable titled “A new neighborhood for everyone? Trends of transition in Turkey, the EU and the wider region” on May 25, 2017 at the headquarters of the IPC, Minerva Han, Istanbul.

Following a welcome speech by Prof. Dr. Fuat Keyman, Director of the IPC and Professor at the Sabancı University,  the panel was chaired by the INSITER Co-coordinator Asst. Prof. Dr. Ebru Turhan and included contributions from Assoc. Prof. Dr. Senem Aydın-Düzgit, IPC Senior Scholar & Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator and Associate Professor at the Sabancı University; Prof. Dr. Atila Eralp, Middle East Technical University, & Turkish-German University; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimitris Tsarouhas, Bilkent University and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wessels, CETEUS | University of Cologne & Turkish-German University as panelists and Asst. Prof. Dr. Wulf Reiners, INSITER Co-coordinator, as a key discussant.

More than 40 representatives from German and Turkish academia and civil society participated in the roundtable.

Please click here for the program.

INSITER Seminar Concluded

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On May 24, 2017, the last session of the INSITER seminar “Contemporary EU-Turkey Relations” took place. The course was added to the Turkish-German University’s MA programme “European and International Affairs” as a new teaching offer (seminar code ‘AVU114’) in the framework of the INSITER project; classes had started on February 15. The seminar was conducted by the INSITER co-coordinators Asst. Prof. Dr. Ebru Turhan and Asst. Prof. Dr. Wulf Reiners and will be concluded with the submission of the students’ seminar papers by May 28.

INSITER Co-Coordinators at ARENA / COMOS / CETEUS Conference in Oslo

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On May 18 and 19, 2017, the INSITER co-coordinators participated in a joint conference of the Centre for European Studies (ARENA) of the University of Oslo, the Cologne Monnet Association (COMOS) and the Centre for Turkey and EU Studies (CETEUS) of the University of Cologne that took place in Oslo, Norway.

Under the conference title “Towards a differentiated Europe” the event dealt with recent developments inside the EU, joint challenges for the EU and Norway as well as the future ties of the EU to non-member states, particularly Norway, the UK and Turkey. In this context Asst. Prof. Dr. Ebru Turhan and Asst. Prof. Dr Wulf Reiners contributed to the panel on “Alternative Forms of Partnership of and with the EU” and presented the INSITER project.