Seminar on EU-Turkey Relations and the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU

EU-Turkey Relations and the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU was the topic of the Seminar held in the Large Conference Hall of UNWE.

Opening of the Seminar

The Rector Prof. D.Sc.(Econ.) Statty Stattev greeted the organizers and participants and presented the guests: Ayhan Zeytinoglu, President of the Economic Development Foundation (IKV), Prof. Dr. Haluk Kabaalioglu, IKV Vice-President and President of the Turkish University Association in EU Studies (TUNAECS), Prof. D.Sc.(Econ.) Dimitar Hadzhinikolov, President of the Bulgarian European Studies Association (ECSA-Bulgaria).

Prof. Stattev pointed out that the topic of the Seminar is very important and reminded the words of the Prime Minister Boyko Borisov during his first academic public lecture at the UNWE three months ago when he paid a special attention to Bulgarian-Turkish relations declaring that “the peace and negotiations are the best ways for solving the problems”. So it is important to keep close relations with our Turkish neighbours, said the Rector and expressed his hope that the Seminar would contribute to feature new directions for the future development of the good neighbourhood relations between Bulgaria and Turkey.

The Rector Prof. Statty Stattev (on the left)

Mr. Ayhan Zeytinoglu presented the Economic Development Foundation – non-governmental research organization having a seat in Brussels and specialized on the EU and Turkey-EU relations. He examined also the trade and economic relations between Turkey and the EU and pointed out the necessity of their modernization and achievement of visa-free regime in order to relieve the business. Mr. Zeytinoglu outlined that Turkey had always supported Bulgaria and expressed his hope that the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU would contribute to Turkey’s admission in the EU.

Mr. Ayhan Zeytinoglu

Prof. Dr. Haluk Kabaalioglu, moderator during the Seminar, reviewed the development of Bulgarian-Turkish economic relations and EU-Turkey relations in chronological order and emphasized on the necessity to modernize the existing 20-years-old EU-Turkey Customs Union.

Prof. Dr. Haluk Kabaalioglu

During the Seminar reports were presented by Prof. D.Sc.(Econ.) Dimitar Hadzhinikolov (Importance and Perspectives on EU-Turkey Trade Relations and Bulgaria-Turkey Trade Relations in the Framework of the Customs Union) as weel as by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Plamen Ralchev, Deputy Head of the International Relations Department (Political Aspects of Bulgarian-Turkish Relations in the Context of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU).

Prof. D.Sc.(Econ.) Dimitar Hadzhinikolov

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Plamen Ralchev