Berlin – Turkey after the elections - what next?

Tuesday, 20 September 2011, 12.00 to 14.00 hours
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP)
Rauchstr. 17, 10787 Berlin

Turkey after the elections – what next?

Speakers:

• Gerald Knaus, Chairman of the European Stability Initiative, author of "Can Intervention work?" (August 2011)
• Ruprecht Polenz, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, author of "Besser für beide. Die Türkei gehört in die EU" (Mai 2010)
• Mustafa Akyol, Istanbul-based political commentator and author of "Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty" (July 2011)

As expected, Prime Minister Erdogan und his AK Party won the June elections in Turkey. Where is Turkey headed now? Has the AKP permanently reduced the power of the military? What is the future of Turkish-EU relations? What are the constitutional amendments going to be like and will they improve the position of minorities in Turkey? These are some of the issues that were discussed at the event. Others included the role and future of Turkish Islam; the steps the Turkish government can take to come closer to a visa liberalisation process with the EU; and, very important, the role of Germany, which is Turkey's most important partner in the EU.

The event was be held in English.

               
                                                            The EU is financing this event