To be able to enlighten Turkey’s European Union process and promote the relations with European Union, the third of “KAGIDER EU Days” was held at the KAGIDER’s Women Development Center, Biz, on 24^th November.

EU Enlargement Commissioner, Alexandra Cas Granje; Bahçeşehir University EU Institution Commissioner, Cengiz Aktar; and KAGIDER executive, Gülseren Onanç participated the panel as the speakers and in which Meltem Müftüler Baç, Sabancı University Academics, was the moderator of the panel.

KAGIDER Vice Chairman, Ayla Sevand, upon making the opening speech of the panel, in her speech reminded of the content of the first and second KAGIDER EU Days.

During the panel, on the basis of EU Commission’s Turkey’s Development Report, the emphasis was on the EU’s development process and Turkey’s membership of the EU.

 In his speech, Alexandra Cas Granje touched upon EU’S enlargement process, the balance sheets of 2004-2007 expansions, and he further said that despite the fact that they are still bound to the Copenhagen Criteria; the EU changed their main focus in 2006. Furthermore, Granje gave information about 2010 Development Package, and he lasted his conversation by comparing the improvements of EU applicants like Turkey, Iceland, Croatia, and Macedonia.

As to Bahçeşehir University EU Institution Commissioner, Cengiz Aktar evaluated today’s expectations about EU, and obstacles to the membership of Turkey. Then, he illustrated the phase of Turkey’s being nominee to the EU by starting from 1963, and he claimed that although Turkey nominated to the EU in 1999, Turkey did not become familiar to the political criteria. Moreover, he asserted that Turkey would put the Cyprus on the agenda and briefly explained the role of nongovernmental organizations in Turkey’s EU membership.

Gülseren Onanç stated that as KAGIDER, they play an important role in Turkey’s EU membership and they do this with the help of KAGIDER’S Brussels’ branch office. Onanç made clear that they are agree on the EU Development Report’s Economic and Social Rights title, which includes the child obstacle for Women to take part in the working life, wage inequalities, shadow employment problem. Finally, she said that “For the sake of development we will put into words our demands.”

By producing solutions to the problems related to the Turkey’s EU membership, the panel turned into a productive discussion, and the journalists, academics and nongovernmental organization members contributed to the meeting with their comments and questions.