The United Kingdom is strongly committed to supporting Turkey’s accession to the European Union and assisting Turkey in the process of reform necessary to achieve this goal.

Prime Minister Tony Blair made a statement to the House of Commons on the 20 December 2004 following the decision at the Brussels European Council to open accession negotiations on 3 October 2005:

‘This is a hugely important and welcome moment for Europe. Turkey lies at the intersection of three areas of strategic importance to Europe-the Middle East, Central Asia and the Balkans. So a stable and democratic Turkey will help to strengthen our influence and role in all three areas. Turkey beginning negotiations to join the EU shows that those who believe that there is some fundamental clash of civilisations between Christian and Muslim are wrong. Muslim, Christian and other religious faiths, can work together in democratic, tolerant and multicultural societies. Turkey's membership is therefore of fundamental importance for the future peace and prosperity of Britain, Europe and the wider world.’

This section summarises the broad range of practical support the United Kingdom is providing to assist Turkey’s efforts to prepare for EU membership. It covers the Embassy’s wide range of assistance programmes as well as the activities of the British Council. The UK administration also participates in a wide range of Twinning Projects, sharing expertise with the Turkish authorities in technical areas jointly identified by the European Commission and the Turkish Government.

In addition to the UK’s contribution to European Commission administered programmes for Turkey, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made available over £1 million to support bilateral activities this financial year.

A selection of past and ongoing activities in various priority areas are set out below.

Justice and Home Affairs

- contacts between the UK and Turkish judiciary through a series of visits, training courses and seminars on a range of international and European judicial topics

- training for the appropriate authorities on custody, detention and public order policing, prison management and human rights responsibilities in government

- English Language Training for relevant Turkish officials in Ministries of Interior and Justice, and in law-enforcement agencies

- training to strengthen the capacity of Turkish law enforcement agencies to tackle drugs and organised immigration crime issues

- human rights training for the Deputy Governors who are responsible for law enforcement agencies at the provincial level, in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior

- training for the Turkish Judiciary in Human Rights issues

Migration Issues

- closer links with Turkish officials responsible for migration issues and identifying areas of future co-operation

- close co-operation between all UK Liaison Officers in Turkey and their counterparts

- close co-operation and intelligence sharing with the Turkish with law enforcement agencies

- assisting International Organisation for Migration to hold training workshops on trafficking.

- training to promote police capacity in refugee and asylum related areas

Economic Reform

- Inward investment and regional development: Turkish officials have visited the UK to look at British experience of inward investment promotion,

- Close co-operation between the Bank Regulation and Supervision Authority (BRSA) and the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA).

- Energy Sector Liberalisation: The President of the Energy Markets Regulatory Authority visited the UK to examine British experience of electricity sector liberalisation.

- EU Technical Alignment: Senior Turkish officials have participated in UK funded workshops for EU practitioners in competition/state aids, financial services, public procurement and public health, waste management, building standards and employment policy

Common Foreign and Security Policy

- funding a number of visits for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Union Secretariat General officials to attend relevant conferences, seminars and other EU related events in the UK

- regular dialogue at prime ministerial and senior official level

- continuing co-operation in the area of security and defence

Environment

- support for seminars on topics of relevance such as CITES implementation, sustainable forestry and environmental legislation,

- support for producing a policy and legislative draft for Medicinal Plants in Turkey

- supporting Turkish efforts to harmonise their environmental laws with EU standards

- producing a guide for development organisations engaged in development activities at local, regional and international level

Public Administration

- training to assist managers and decision-makers within the Turkish government in identifying, preparing and presenting projects for bilateral and multilateral donors

- training on EU and Negotiation skills, Media Relations to improve the capacity of EU co-ordination departments of line ministries

- training to improve project management capacity in relevant line ministries

Strengthening Civil Society

- capacity building among Women’s NGOs on Networking and Communication Strategies with the Women’s Networks in the European Union

- visits by British officials to discuss government-NGO dialogue

- support for NGO networking activities

- training for non-governmental organisations in project development and management

Education and Culture

The British Council continues to provide good quality English Language Training. Working closely with the Embassy, it also:

- administers the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Chevening Scholarship and other British Government Schemes which send postgraduate students to study in the UK with a focus on courses relevant to key sectors of the acquis;

- developed a Chevening programme in partnership with the Turkish EU Secretariat General to support capacity building in Turkish Ministries dealing with EU relations;

- has continued to pursue key European funded projects in all areas of importance to the EU accession process

- has directly supported a series of contact making seminars within the framework of EU mobility programmes such as Socrates, Leonardo and Youth

- is working in partnership with the Turkish Ministry of Education on a range of educational projects designed to bring Turkish education more closely into line with broader EU practice and standards

- is realising the European Commission’s ambitious Cultural Bridges programme in the framework of the EU-Turkey Civil Society Dialogue.

Promoting dialogue between Turkey, the UK and the EU

The British Council will contribute to the dialogue around Turkey’s accession to the EU and its impact by:

- arranging a series of annual high level ‘EU-Turkey Relations’ conferences to engage decision-makers, policy-makers and others in positions of influence in discussions around Turkey’s EU membership and the process of accession

- supporting Turkish and UK speakers to contribute to conferences and seminars on themes relevant to EU membership


British Embassy, Ankara
April 2008