Apresentação

D-TR: The Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee

The European Parliament's Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (D-TR) focuses on developing relations with Turkey, and particularly with its parliament, the Grand National Assembly.

As the name of the delegation indicates, a specific forum - a "Joint Parliamentary Committee" - has been established to bring together elected representatives from the European and Turkish legislatures.

The 25-member D-TR delegation represents half of this Committee.

In addition to its work in the Joint Parliamentary Committee, the Parliament's D-TR delegation also maintains contacts with Turkish civil society. Through its regular meetings in Strasbourg and Brussels, the delegation provides a forum for a variety of voices on Turkey - those of researchers and officials, business representatives and ordinary citizens - to be heard.

Members and Chair

In addition to its 25 full members, the European Parliament's Turkish delegation counts a number of substitute members.

Sergey LAGODINSKY (Greens/EFA, DE) was elected as the Chair of the European Parliament's Turkey Delegation on 26 September 2019. The delegation's 1st Vice-Chair is Ilhan KYUCHYUK (Renew, BG) and its 2nd Vice-Chair is Özlem DEMIREL (GUE/NGL, DE).




Delegation work

The delegation meets on its own regularly in Brussels or Strasbourg.

These meetings address procedural matters and prepare for the Joint Parliamentary Committee sessions.

The meetings also examine matters of substance, such as the political and economic situation in Turkey and the bilateral relationship. Turkey's negotiations to accede to the EU have been a major focus - and an increasingly problematic subject since a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Members of the delegation regularly invite external experts to make presentations or exchange views on relevant topics. The head of Turkey's Mission to the EU, representatives for the Commission's Directorate-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations and representatives of the European External Action Service regularly contribute to the debates.

Joint Parliamentary Committee meetings

The lion's share of the delegation's work is invested in the Joint Parliamentary Committee.

The committee meets two or three times a year, either in Turkey or within the European Parliament (in Brussels or Strasbourg). Meetings may last for up to three half-days and include, in addition to those from MEPs and members of the Grand National Assembly, interventions by representatives of the Turkish government, the European Commission, the European External Action Service and the EU's rotating presidency.

The agenda for each meeting focuses on a handful of significant topics. The first item on the agenda is typically bilateral relations and Turkey's progress in its accession negotiations. The EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations and high-ranking representatives of the government of Turkey are regularly invited to the meetings.

The committee sessions are public. Minutes of the committee meeting are adopted at the following meeting, and audio recordings of the meetings are available on request. Some meetings may be webstreamed on the web page of the European Parliament or of the Grand National Assembly.

Travelling

When travelling to Turkey for meetings of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, the European Parliament's delegation tries to organise additional discussions with ambassadors from the EU, NGOs, civil society and representatives of the Turkish administration. These provide useful and informed views on the situation on the ground.

MEPs also participate in field visits to projects financed from the EU budget, so they can scrutinise how these EU funds are used.

Article 27 of the EU-Turkey Association Agreement ("Ankara Agreement")

AGREEMENT

establishing an Association between the European Economic Community and Turkey
(signed at Ankara, 12 September 1963)

Article 27

The Council of Association shall take all appropriate steps to promote the necessary cooperation and contacts between the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and other organs of the Community on the one hand and the Turkish Parliament and the corresponding organs in Turkey on the other.

During the preparatory state, however, such contacts shall be limited to relations between the European Parliament and the Turkish Parliament.