Tensioned partnership: Prospects for the EU-US-Turkey relations

There is no doubt that Turkey’s relations with its Western allies are at a historical low. President Erdoğan’s domestic and foreign policy has raised concerns among the EU and US about his commitment to Western institutions.  Measures associated with the (currently lifted) emergency rule, and the confinement of journalists and activists critical of the Turkish government, put a burden on EU-Turkey relations. At the same time, Turkey deepened its relations with Russia by buying military equipment and agreeing to coordinate military operations in Syria, which is cause for serious concern in the US. Additionally, EU-US relations have come under strain in view of a US-President whose next steps in foreign policy are unpredictable. 

What will the future of the EU-Turkey-US relations look like? Which role can and should the European Union play with regards to current tensions between Turkey, the US and Russia? 

Programme

18:00 – 18:30        

Registration    

18:30 – 18:35    

Welcome
Eva van de Rakt, Head of Office, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union

18:35 – 19:30     

Panel discussion     

• Oya Dursun-Özkanca, Professor of Political Science, Elizabethtown College
• Sergey Lagodinsky, Member of European Parliament (The Greens/EFA), Head of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee 
• Aaron Stein, Director of Program on the Middle East, Foreign Policy Research Institute
• Gönül Tol, Director of Turkey Program, Middle East Institute

Moderation: Laura Batalla Adam, Secretary General, European Parliament Turkey Forum

19:30 – 20:15      

Q&A     

20:15           

Reception and walking dinner