IUE hosted EU Environment Policies and Turkey Panel

The panel that took place under the chairmanship of Vice Rector and Head of Department of Economics Prof. Dr. Oğuz Esen was organized by the organization committee made up of Head of Department of International Relations and EU Assoc. Prof. Filiz Başkan, Department of International Relations and EU Assoc. Prof. Işık Gürleyen and Department of International Relations and EU instructor Hatice Yazgan.

Since the environment issue is the field about which Turkey undergoes some difficulties in EU adaptation process, for the purpose of providing especially International Relations and European Union students to follow the current developments and gaining them a prevision about it, a panel is organized under the chairmanship of Department of International Relations and EU lecturer Assoc. Prof. Işık Gürleyen.

The first speaker Asst. Prof. Gökhan Orhan gave some information about EU environment policies. Orhan stated that EU environment policy had accelerated in 1970s and it became a field on which policies are developed. He also stated that in the framework of “Europeanization” which has become a popular concept, EU arrangements about environment had been internalized not only by the EU member countries but also by the candidate countries too. Moreover, there are also differences between the member countries, Northern countries are more sensitive about EU environment arrangements but Southern countries have “Mediterranean Syndrome” which is to have a political culture that follows environment policies from a distance.

Second speaker Dr. Zeynep Yöntem stated that EU policies should be handled in the framework of EU laws, and Turkey’s adaptation to EU environment legislations will cost 70 billion Euros for Turkey. 

Dr. Cengiz Baykara, who has an active role in Turkey-EU environment negotiations, attended the panel for representing Ministry of Environment and Forestry and said that Turkey needed to make more than 300 legal arrangements for adapting EU legislation. Baykara pointed out that Turkey tried to fulfill the said liabilities in accordance with its capacity and he quoted the legislations like Water Directive, Urban Waste Directive, etc. which have been adapted to EU legislations.