Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ambassador Volkan Bozkır’s Visit to Brussels

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ambassador Volkan Bozkır visited Brussels on 3-4 December 2015 to meet with his counterparts in the European Commission and the European Parliament. 

During his visit, Minister Bozkır met with Frans Timmermans, First Vice President of the European Commission for Better Regulation, Inter-institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights; Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations; and Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs.

Later on, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ambassador Volkan Bozkır also met with Miguel Arias Canete, European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action; Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development; and Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. 

In Brussels, Minister Bozkır also met with Elmar Brok, Chair of the European Parliament (EP) Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET). Minister Bozkır also received Ambassador Stefano Manservisi, the former head of the EU Delegation to Türkiye and currently head of cabinet for Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Following his meeting with Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations; Minister Bozkır held a joint press meeting with Commissioner Hahn which he concluded with the following statement: "EU needs Türkiye and Türkiye needs EU more than ever". 

In Brussels, Minister Bozkır was interviewed by EurActive, a prominent online news portal based in Brussels focusing on European affairs. Minister Bozkır was hosted by Habertürk TV and TRT Haber in live broadcasts from Brussels.

At Minister Bozkır's meetings at the European Commission and the European Parliament, which are the first in the wake of the Türkiye-EU Summit held on 29 November 2015 in Brussels, the current state of play in Türkiye's EU accession negotiations and all aspects of Türkiye-EU relations were addressed in the light of the conclusions of the Summit.