The Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS) in collaboration with TESEV Foreign policy program and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Budapest office organized a workshop titled EU-Turkey Relations in 2013:Increasing the Momentum and Facing Regional Challenges on September 25, 2013 at Central European University, Budapest. The panel aimed to discuss Hungary’s experience with the EU, ways of reviving EU-Turkey dialogue, and cooperation opportunities vis-à-vis the regional challenges triggered by the ‘Arab Spring’.

 The panel started with the discussion about the EU’s eagerness to accept Turkey as a full member state. One speaker underlined that Turkey can play three roles and thus can become a game player, a game spoiler or a game changer. With the suspension of more than a dozen of chapters, there is actually not much to negotiate. It is apparent that the past couple of years witnessed a cooling-off in EU-Turkey relations going hand to hand with an increase in Turkey’s sceptical attitude towards the EU. It was also argued that the EU’s economic and institutional crises declined the public support in Turkey favouring full membership.The “positive agenda”that was announced by the EU Commission in May 2012 was also discussed during the event as a window of opportunity for progress in negotiations. It was argued that the initiative was planned to keep the accession process of Turkey alive and put it properly back on track after a period of stagnation. However in the past 1.5 year no radical change is observed in the process. One participant underlined that Turkey and EU cooperate in the framework of many different international platforms including Union for Mediterranean, European Neighbourhood policy, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the latest Eastern Partnership and there is mutual benefits for both sides in more integration.

Another participant argued that ‘public portrayal of Turkey’ is positive in Hungary but the biggest problem is Turkey’s increasing population. The population issue is the main reason for the low public support within the EU for Turkey’s possible membership. It is also underlined that the Union’s absorption capacity reached its limits after several enlargement waves and the EU is no longer the Union that ‘offers’. One participant argued that anti-European argumentation exists in Hungary as well and the government’s policies create problems in relations with the EU. In addition to these, thevisa problem and the Cyprus issue are also discussed at great length. The nature of economic relations between the EU and Turkey are put on the table and it is argued that there is a reorientation in Turkish economy towards other neighbours. The participants also discussed the impact of the so-called Arab Spring that has triggered an astounding level of change in the Middle Eastin the last two years. It is argued that the civil war in Syriaposesserious threats to Turkey and in the medium term the EU will be also affected by this turmoil.