The 32nd Turkiye Working Group Meeting of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is being held in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The meeting was attended by mayors of cities in Turkey and EU member states, regional representatives, and local government experts. The latest developments in Turkey-EU relations were discussed during the program.
The 32nd Turkiye Working Group Meeting of the European Union Committee of the Regions (CoR) was held in Brussels. On the first day of the program, the Permanent Representation of Turkey to the European Union (EU) was visited.
The delegation from Turkiye included Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş, İzmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, Mut Mayor Murat Orhan, Simav Mayor Kübra Tekel Aktulun, Şişli and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Council Member Ahmet Oğuz Demir, and administrators from the Üsküdar and İzmit municipalities. The delegation was received by Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı, Permanent Representative of Turkiye to the EU, Deputy Permanent Representative Gökhan Aralan, and EU Advisor Bilge Özer.
During the visit, Ambassador Kaymakcı briefed the participants on Turkiye-EU relations and the opportunities available to local governments in Turkiye at the EU level, while also touching on the history of the CoR and the activities of the Turkiye Working Group.
Kaymakcı emphasized that relations between Turkiye and the CoR should be conducted through the Joint Consultative Committee rather than the Turkiye Working Group. Noting that the Turkiye Working Group meetings are an important platform for continuing relations between the EU and local governments, Kaymakcı recalled the role of the TMU's Brussels Office in this context. Kaymakcı stated that the Brussels Office should be actively used to convey opportunities for local government funding, project partnerships, and networking to municipalities.
Referring to the history of Turkiye-EU relations, Kaymakcı drew attention to the commercial partnership between Turkiye and the EU. Kaymakcı also underlined the need to update the current Customs Union Agreement.
Working Group Discusses Local Democracy
Following the visit to the Permanent Representation, the 32nd Turkiye Working Group Meeting was held. At the meeting, the minutes of the 31st Turkiye Working Group Meeting were approved, and Jelena Drenjanin was appointed as the new Chair of the Working Group.
Drenjanin began her speech by sharing her observations on Turkiye and stated that the CoR uses all communication channels within the scope of Turkiye-EU relations. Pointing out that the meetings provided an opportunity for mutual information sharing and discussion of common interests, Drenjanin argued that Turkiye's candidacy process was on the agenda but that the detention of TBB and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and some other mayors had damaged Turkiye's candidacy process.
The meeting continued with a session titled “Recent Developments in Turkiye and EU-Turkiye Relations,” with Izmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet and Turkiye's Permanent Representative to the EU Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı also speaking.
The meetings in Brussels will conclude with the General Session on Enlargement Day on Wednesday, May 28.