Background to the Bosphorus Conference

The European Union has entered a new phase of relations with Turkey after accession negotiations started on 3 October 2005. With the participation of high level figures involved in the EU debate and partnerships with strategic institutions (Centre for European Reform from the UK and the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation from Turkey), this Conference, like the previous four, will be a thought-provoking event and an opportunity to address some of the issues expected to arise as relations between the EU and Turkey evolve over the next decade.

The Goals of the Bosphorus Conference

The Bosphorus Conference is a frank, off-the-record discussion on aspects of EU-Turkey relations and aims to highlight areas where there is still work to be done and how these areas may in the future form part of the UK's support to the accession process. Equally important, we hope that participants will have the opportunity to build new personal links that are useful to them and helpful to relations between Turkey and the EU member states.

Why the British Council is supporting the Bosphorus Conference

One of the key priorities of the British Council is to strengthen the relationships between the people and institutions of the UK and Turkey and in so doing, develop better understanding and ties between both countries.  Turkey’s accession to the European Union has an enormous influence on the UK-Turkey bilateral relationship, so we have organised many activities addressing this theme including the Independent Commission on Turkey which was supported by the British Council and the Open Society Institute. Following on from last four years’ conferences, the British Council will continue to facilitate and support the debate on Turkey's EU accession.