The Belgian EU presidency also concerns Türkiye

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Ambassador Huynen addresses the audience

Ambassador Huynen addresses the public during the public event at the Chamber of Commerce in Ankara. © FPS Foreign affairs

Did you know that many of our embassies – and not only the European ones – are organising some special activities to highlight the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU? So is our embassy in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye. The programme includes a visit to the region hit by a massive earthquake last year.

Working lunch for EU heads of mission

Several activities were scheduled in January 2024 alone. It began on 17 January with a working lunch at the historic Belgian residence in Ankara for 26 EU heads of mission and the EU ambassador. Only Cyprus was missing, because it has no representation in Ankara.

The working lunch provided an opportunity to present the priorities and programme for the Belgian presidency. The EU ambassador elaborated upon some key issues in the EU-Türkiye relationship. These include the EU's support for refugees in Türkiye and the upcoming high-level dialogues on health, innovation and research.

Public dialogue on EU-Türkiye relations

The public event to launch the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU in Türkiye took place on 18 January at the Ankara Chamber of Commerce. Aim: to promote dialogue on EU-Türkiye relations.

In his speech, Turkish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mehmet Bozay underlined Belgium's historic outcomes as president of the Council of the EU. Among other things, he referred to the creation of the Customs Union, the very first enlargement, the launch of the Erasmus programme and the introduction of the Single Market. All of them milestones in European history that were all achieved under former Belgian presidencies. In addition, Deputy Minister Bozay stressed Türkiye's willingness to further develop Euro-Turkish relations.

Both EU Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut and Belgian Ambassador Paul Huynen subsequently stated that Türkiye is and will remain an indispensable partner for the EU and NATO. Türkiye will also definitely remain a candidate for an EU Member State.

Türkiye's former ambassador, Rauf Engin Soysal, stressed that Turkish and European togetherness are more important than ever in the current geopolitical context. He made a case for the continued relevance of the European project. According to him, the College of Europe (see below) has a crucial role to play in the construction of Europe that will never be finished. He hopes that, one day, the College of Europe will have a campus in Türkiye.

Brochure on former students of the College of Europe

For this public event – heavily covered in the Turkish press – Turkish alumni were also invited from the College of Europe in Bruges and Natolin in Poland. There, our embassy handed out a brochure about the Turkish alumni of the College of Europe. The forewords were by none other than Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Rector of the College of Europe Federica Mogherini and former Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakcı. Ambassador Huynen wrote an epilogue.

They all stressed the crucial role of the College of Europe in terms of European integration, promotion of European values and strengthening the European idea. The Turkish alumni are invaluable in deepening relations between Türkiye and the EU.

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Ambassador Huynen during the visit to Hatay

Ambassador Huynen during the visit to Hatay, one of the epicenters of last year's massive earthquake. © FPS Foreign affairs

Visit to region hit by earthquake

Finally, Ambassador Paul Huynen, along with EU Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, visited Hatay and Kahramanmaraș, both the epicentre of earthquakes on 6 February 2023, from 24-26 January. Almost one year after the natural disaster, the mission brought a strong message of continued solidarity from the EU and its Member States with the affected population. The EU remains ready to contribute to reconstruction and numerous other humanitarian needs.

The EU diplomatic representation published a photo album highlighting the efforts by the EU and its Member States. The B-FAST hospital is featured in detail. The mission was accompanied by both foreign (Le Monde, Der Spiegel, The Economist, Financial Times) and Turkish press.

Ambassador Huynen also gave an interview to the Turkish newspaper Ekonomi Gazetesi, in which he outlined the priorities for the Belgian presidency in terms of economy and trade.

Agenda for the coming months

The Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU is a unique opportunity for our embassies to promote the image of Belgium and the EU in the host country. And this invariably takes place in an open, candid and respectful dialogue.

In the coming months, our embassy in Ankara already has a series of other activities on the agenda, such as a lecture by our ambassador for the 'Lectures by Ambassadors' cycle from the Turkish think tank TEPAV (15 February). A presentation on the political dynamics in Türkiye in the context of NATO and the EU, and their implications in the context of our Belgian EU presidency, will follow in early March in Istanbul.