Information Note on the Visit of EU High Level Officials, Federica Mogherini, Johannes Hahn, Christos Stylianides, to Türkiye

Federica Mogherini, Vice President of the European Commission and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations; and Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management paid an official visit to Türkiye on 8-9 December 2014.

This visit was the first of its kind following the Commission’s assumption of its duties on 1 November 2014. It was also unprecedented as the EU High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission, and two other EU Commissioners visited Türkiye jointly.

Within the scope of the visit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu have also received Federica Mogherini, High Representative and Vice President and EU Commissioners Johannes Hahn and Christos Stylianides. Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ambassador Volkan Bozkır and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu have also participated in these meetings.

Minister Bozkır and Minister Cavuşoğlu also held a joint meeting with the EU High Representative and the Commissioners followed by a working luncheon and a joint press conference.

EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, and EU Commissioners Johannes Hahn and Christos Stylianides have also met with Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan; Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan; Minister of Interior Efkan Ala; Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ; and Director General of Turkish Prime Ministry's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency Fuad Oktay.

Minister Bozkir participated in the luncheon in which Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations met with representatives of the Turkish business world.

High Representative Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner Christos Stylianides paid a visit to Gaziantep on 9 December 2014 and visited the temporary shelters for Syrian civilians in Kilis.

In the meetings, the acceleration of Türkiye’s EU accession process, and mutual steps to be taken to further strengthen Türkiye-EU relations were addressed, and views were exchanged on international affairs.

The joint visit of three high-level EU officials to Türkiye within such a short time following the assumption of their duties, is a clear indication that Türkiye’s determined steps and intense efforts recently  towards the EU accession receive a positive response from the EU side.