The project “Revitalizing Turkey-EU/Germany Relations” funded by the Initiative aims to contribute to the revitalization of the Turkey-EU/Germany relationship through two complementary courses of action.

The first pillar of the project, with its particular focus on publications, aims to create a knowledge base in order to intensify cooperation and practical policy making in two key policy areas between the two sides, namely the refugee crisis and the upgrading of the Customs Union agreement.

The second pillar of the project focuses on networking events and established a Track II diplomacy working group. The group’s aim is to create a platform by bringing together academics, professionals, and public servants from Turkish, German, and European institutions to feed into the debate on the future of Turkey-EU/Germany relations and work collectively on revitalizing relations. The first meeting took place in Istanbul. Given the trilateral partnership of the Initiative, high-level meetings were held in Berlin and Brussels over the course of 2018.

The project “Humanitarian Policy Responses to the Refugee Issue” by 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker, analyzed the instances of encounters between refugees and hosts in which hostility, exclusion, and fear are overcome. Data was collected to address the question of whether and how interactions that strengthen common political and social spaces be supported. Out of this data, policy suggestions for an alternative, inclusive response to the refugee issue were formulated.

2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow and International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) EU Managing Director Peter Mock initiated the project “Introducing an Emissions-based Vehicle Taxation Scheme in Turkey,” which aims to develop concrete policy pathways for switching to an emissions-based vehicle taxation scheme in Turkey and exchanging knowledge and experience between a broad range of stakeholders in Turkey and Germany.

Two workshops titled “Reducing Emissions from Passenger Cars in Turkey: The Role of Taxation Policies for Incentivizing Zero- and Low-Emission Vehicles.” The first workshop was convened in cooperation with the German Embassy on April 2 in Ankara, while the second was held on April 3, 2019 at IPC Karaköy.

The Turkey 2023 project aims to outline a long-term vision of prosperity for Turkey, explore its role in Europe and the transatlantic relationship, assess the state of the Republic and its institutions one hundred years after its foundation, and examine its position in the region and the world. The project is based around an expert trilateral task force assembled by the Center for American Progress (CAP) (Washington) and IAI (Rome).
 

Since 2012, IPC has partnered with the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) under the Global Turkey in Europe (GTE) project to strengthen Turkey-EU relations through the development of policy recommendations that are based on in-depth academic research and enhanced by practical advice from professionals and decision makers.

This project aimed at exploring how the EU and Turkey can enhance their cooperation (within, not necessarily beyond the accession process), in the political, economic, security and foreign policy domains. Over the years Global Turkey in Europe (GTE) has built a core exchange and dialogue group as well as solid baseline of publication on all pillars in EU-Turkey relations.

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Initiated by Climate Change Studies Coordinator Ümit Şahin, this project aims to coordinate different policy-relevant works under IPC’s climate change cluster with regards to three areas: climate governance, climate-related energy policies, and international negotiations.

As an initial step, the project aims to facilitate the dialogue between different climate policy actors in Turkey. As part of the international negotiations area, IPC has been officially represented at both Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings in 2018 and 2019.

The project “Network Building for Climate Politics in Turkey,” which was initiated by 2014/15 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ethemcan Turhan, aims to extend the Mercator-IPC Initiative’s Climate Change Cluster research and outreach activities in Ankara with direct and regular contact with state institutions, embassies, and international organizations. IPC convened a panel titled “Climate Policy in Turkey: Current Opportunities and Permanent Problems from the Perspective of Social Sciences,” which was organized as a part of Sivil Düşün EU Programme, on October 20, 2016 at PE-3 Salon, METU Alumni Association Visnelik Facility in Ankara.
 

The project “The Impact of Turkey’s EU Accession Process on German-Turkish Business Relations” which was initiated by 2013/14 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ebru Turhan, aims to bring renewed attention to Turkey’s EU accession process and its positive implications for bilateral relations between Germany and Turkey within a European framework. The Initiative and Ifo Institute at the University of Munich organized a one-day event titled “Germany and Turkey in Europe: Economic and Political Challenges and Possible Options” on April 4, 2016 in Munich. The meeting brought together German and Turkish representatives from business, academia, and national and international organizations.