Format and Topics

The format of the conference will follow the successful formulas from the previous 5 years. The number of participants will be strictly limited to allow real discussion around the table. We will allow sufficient time between meetings for participants to exchange ideas and develop new contacts. We hope to welcome high-level representatives from politics, business, the media, academia and the think tank community from Turkey, Britain and other EU countries, including the new member-states. As in previous conferences, the Chatham House Rule will be applied during the Conference.

This year, during the openning dinner and the conference, there will be a translation facility in English-Turkish/Turkish-English

Topics

This year’s conference will look in depth at some of the issues that will be of great importance during Turkey’s accession process and will discuss how Turkey and the EU relations can "regain momentum”. During the accession negotiations, which can be lengthy, complex and at times challenging, it is imperative to anticipate and analyse problems and generate early ideas on how they can be overcome. This year, the discussions will focus on the following main themes:

EU-Turkey relations: The critical year of 2009

			What progress has there been in the accession negotiations?
			How would Turkey and EU adjust to the challenging Ankara protocol?
			Which areas are most promising for reinforced EU-Turkey co-operation?

Belonging, layered identity and the European project

			Is a mono-layered European identity possible or even desirable?
			How can EU and Turkey work to come over these layers?

Europe’s global challenges and Strategic co-operation

			How does the EU benefit from Turkey’s growing regional and global role?
			How can Turkey benefit from the EU’s foreign and security policy?
			Are the EU’s achievements – single market, euro, enlargement – under threat?