Michael Kaeding has been a professor of European Integration and European Union Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, since 2012. He holds an ad personam Jean Monnet Chair. Currently, he is also Vice-Dean for Research and Young Academics in the Faculty for Social Sciences at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Visiting Fellow at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) in Maastricht, member of the Flying Faculty of the College of Europe and the German-Turkish University in Istanbul, Honorary Board Member of TEPSA (Trans European Policy Association, previous Chairman from 2016–2019), member of the Executive Board of European Integration Working Group (Arbeitskreis Europäische Integration)  and member of the Scientific Directorate of the Institute of European Politics (IEP) in Berlin. He is a Fulbright alumnus and a former Carl Schurz Visiting Professor at the University of Madison, Wisconsin (USA). Kaeding’s work aims to contribute to a better understanding—both critical and constructive—of the process of European integration, EU policy-making, and its impact on member states and third countries.

Project: “Turkey’s (Enhanced) Engagement in EU Agencies: A Potential Membership Substitute Mechanism in a Differentiated European Union”

There are currently 48 EU agencies, located in over 22 EU member states. More than ever, EU agencies stand for solutions to European problems and as promoters of European integration. A mostly neglected feature of EU agencies is the growing involvement of third countries in EU agencies as a form of external differentiated European integration. Currently, Turkey fully participates in only two out of 34 powerful, decentralized, regulatory EU agencies: the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Since no uniform rule exists concerning the systematic involvement of third countries in EU agencies, this project addresses the following question: In which policy areas and under what conditions could Turkey’s (enhanced) involvement in EU agencies be used as an EU membership substitute mechanism and, thereby, as a form of external differentiation? This project will explore the dynamic and flexible nature of cooperation through EU agencies as a potential valuable asset for Turkey and the EU given the often long and uncertain road to EU membership amid prolonged enlargement fatigue across EU member states.