Turkey on the way to EU membership: internal and external challenges, Panel of the 14th European Political Conference “EUROPE of the XXI CENTURY” Słubice, February 6th 2014
In February 2014 we have returned to Collegium Polonicum in Słubice to once again use its hosting of Europe in the XXIst Century conference as a venue for our project’s popularization. This time we have focused on an important subject of Turkey’s potential participation in the European integration project. Europe and Turkey are linked by long lasting and still growing political, economic, cultural and human exchanges. Despite that, Turkish road to European Community is marked by many important stumbling blocks. Issues related to Turkey are featuring prominently in public debate throughout Europe, due to this country’s rising political and economic profile, international activism and large presence of its citizens in EU member states. We aimed to promote awareness of sometimes overlooked aspects of Turkey’s internal and external policy relating to possible future EU accession. That goal has been served by an assembly of both experienced experts from Poland and Cyprus as well as young scholars such as Muzaffer Kural, a PhD student at the Ankara University. Their presentations provided the audience with a broad overview of Ankara’s internal and foreign policies and related challenges. It proved to be a solid background to long Q&A session which concluded the Round Table.
Participants and presentation titles:
dr Adam Szymański University of Warsaw- Internal challenges to EU membership of Turkey, External challenges to EU membership of Turkey
dr Przemysław Osiewicz- The Cyprus Question As One of the Main Obstacles to the Turkish Accession to the EU
msc Muzaffer Kural Ankara University- Internal problems of Turkey on its way to EU membership: Kurdish issue and Democratization; External problem: Turkey’s Foreign Policy towards Middle East
msc Grażyna Baranowska PAN- European responses to gross human rights violation In Turkey
msc Magdalena Szkudlarek- Internal security vs. individual rights – a short reflection on the Gezi Park incidents
prof. Wojciech Forysiński Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus- Europe in Turkey, Turkey in Europe: Challenges and
Perspectives
msc Artur Pohl- Anti-Israeli policy of Turkey – the element of the alternative for the EU membership
