February 26, 2016 Dahrendorf Forum
The Refugee Deal – more risk than gain?
EU and Turkey striking new paths in cooperation
26 February 2016 | 3 – 4.30 p.m. |
Hertie School of Governance Friedrichstraße 180 | 10117 Berlin
Forum A
The EU’s landmark refugee deal with Turkey has put Turkey-EU relations on a new footing. But ever since, there is an enduring discussion between its skeptics and proponents. On the one hand, proponents defend the position that the fine-tuned refugee deal could be viewed as a balanced compromise between Turkey and the EU providing Europe with a hands-off solution to curb the flow of refugees onto its shores. On the other hand, skeptics from both sides claim that the deal’s risks outnumber its gains and that the resolution has crossed a line in terms of financial and political concessions to Turkey in light of its democratic rollback, compromising the credibility of European values. Critics argue that the deal is unethical and will completely derail the accession perspective to make Turkey the buffer-zone of the “Fortress Europe”. The panel speakers will discuss the role that the refugee deal assumes in the context of European refugee politics, EU-Turkey relations and their respective foreign policy agendas in the Middle East including Syria, as well as its impact on the future of the EU.
Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ, President, DoğanTV Holding and Co-President of TCCI Advisory Board
Panelists
Senem Aydın Düzgit, Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair in the Department of International Relations at Bilgi University, Istanbul
Kristian Brakel, Head of Office Heinrich Böll Foundation Turkey
Magdalena Kirchner, Transatlantic Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
Moderator
Ali Aslan, TV Presenter and Journalist at Deutsche Welle, Berlin
The panel discussion is part of the Working Group Turkey and Europe of the “Dahrendorf Forum – Debating Europe”, a joint initiative by the Hertie School of Governance, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Stiftung Mercator. Under the title “Europe and the World”, the project cycle 2015-2016 conducts research and fosters open debate on Europe’s relations with five major regions. The Working Group ‘Europe and Turkey’ is chaired by Esra Özyürek, Associate Professor and Chair of Contemporary Turkish Studies at the LSE and Dilek Kurban J.D., Marie Curie Fellow at the Hertie School of Governance. The purpose of the group is to bring together decision-makers and experts from academia, politics and civil society, to hold workshops and to conduct research in Turkey and Europe.