Ministry for EE Affairs meets with Civil Society Organisations in Eskişehir to exchange views on Türkiye's EU Accession Process

Ministry for EU Affairs will hold a civil society dialogue meeting on "Türkiye's EU Accession Process" with the participation of Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ambassador Volkan Bozkır and with the representatives from civil society, local administrations, business world and universities of Eskişehir at 14.00 on Thursday, 7 January 2016, at Atatürk Culture, Art and Congress Centre.

Seven civil society dialogue meetings have been held thus far in İstanbul, İzmir, Konya, Adana, Bursa, Antalya and Samsun, within the understanding of "a strong civil society and a strong Türkiye." More than 14,000 representatives from thousands of civil society organisations have participated in these meetings.

In the meeting, NGO representatives, who contribute significantly to Türkiye's transformation in the EU accession process, will have the opportunity to express their opinions and recommendations in person to Minister Bozkır.

Moreover, participants will be informed on financial assistance to be provided to NGOs within the scope of Erasmus+ Programme and EU Pre-Accession Assistance.

The programme of the meeting is as follows.

CIVIL SOCIETY DIALOGUE MEETING ON TURKEY'S EU ACCESSION PROCESS
Eskişehir
7 January 2016, Thursday
Atatürk Culture, Art and Congress Centre
(Kurtuluş Mah. Cumhuriyet Bulvarı No: 104 26090 Odunpazarı / Eskişehir)

13.00 - 14.00 Registration

14.00 - 14.10 Opening, Moment of Silence and the National Anthem

14.10 - 14.30 Speech by Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ambassador Volkan Bozkır

14.30 - 16.00 Question&Answer Session

16.00 – 16.30 Coffee Break

16.30 - 18.00 Meeting to inform Civil Society Organisations regarding the Erasmus+ Programme and European Union Funds

Meeting to inform Civil Society Organisations regarding the Erasmus+ Programme and European Union Funds

With the aim of bringing together Turkish people of all ages with EU citizens in training and youth projects, Turkish National Agency provided grants in the amount of more than 730 million Euros to 26 thousand projects in 2004-2014. Within this scope, more than 350 thousand Turkish citizens in 81 provinces had the opportunity to participate in cooperation activities and study abroad. Turkish National Agency will provide information on the newly named Erasmus+ Programme, for which nearly 900 million Euros will be allocated to Türkiye and which will provide our citizens with opportunities to study, train and volunteer in Europe at no cost in the period 2014-2020.

Moreover, within the framework of EU Pre-Accession Financial Assistance, Türkiye will receive nearly 4.5 billion Euros in the period 2014-2020. 190 million Euros of the fund will be allocated to the strengthening of civil society, civil society dialogue and also developing public-civil society dialogue. Civil society organisations will be supported through grants that will be announced in the EU pre-accession financial assistance regularly every year. Within this scope, in 2016, 4 million euros and, in 2017, 9 million euros will be provided directly to civil society organisations.

During the session, participants will be informed on the opportunities, funds, and grants for NGOs, universities, the private sector and local administrations, including the UFUK 2020 programme.

Note: Participants of the programme will be directly informed of Türkiye-European Union relations through the information stands to be opened by the Ministry for EU Affairs, Turkish National Agency and Turkish Accreditation Agency (TURKAK).