The mid-term evaluation meeting for the second stage of "Talking Turkey" Project implemented by TEPAV, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and Parallelli was held in Turin on 9-10 with the attendance of project participants.
At the meeting, TEPAV International Politics Research Institute Director Mustafa Aydın and Prof. Ahmet Evin of Sabancı University shared their observations about current developments in Turkey with the participants. Henri Barkey, an eminent expert on Turkey-U.S. relations, offered an outlook on the influence of Turkey-U.S. strategic relations on Turkey's EU accession process. Project participants from 8 different European research organizations also expressed their assessment of the perspectives by major stakeholders in their countries on Turkey's EU membership.
The completion of the second stage is scheduled for September 2008. A joint report will be published in November and launched in several meetings to be held in Turkey as well as in EU countries.
"Talking Turkey"
TEPAV's contribution to Turkey's EU accession process includes the provision of scholarly information as well as the designation and the implementation of communication strategies to this end. The foundations of the project, whose eventual goal is to devise appropriate communication schemes for each member country, were laid in year 2006 together with Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI).
A starting point for the project was the awareness that the perceptions and considerations regarding Turkey's EU accession process varies from one member country to another, and moreover that different interest groups within each country also hold different viewpoints and priorities. Another source of motivation to initiate deeper research has been the observation that different stakeholders in Turkey also display different approaches to the candidacy and membership processes.
"Talking Turkey" Project is being carried out with the participation of eight research organizations across Europe. Each organization will analyze the opinions, attitudes, and approaches concerning Turkey's EU membership in their countries. The ultimate objective of the project is the development of nuanced communication strategies for each member country, that take into consideration the sensitivities and concerns of various influential segments in their countries.
First stage of the project, which focused on the perceptions concerning the conditionality and impact of Turkey's accession as well as the prejudices against Turkey, was carried out in years 2006-2007. A findings report edited and published with the collaboration of TEPAV and IAI was shared with European bureaucrats and politicians at a meeting held in the European Parliament at September 2007.
The second stage of the project has been launched in 2008. This stage involves research pertaining to how different stakeholders that have political and intellectual access to the EU accession process assess Turkey's EU membership in various EU countries and Turkey.
The research on Turkey will take into consideration the perspective of political parties, the armed forces, business circles, trade unions, and other non-governmental organizations.
Click here for the report published at the first stage of the project.