09.09.2020 Ankara

The 39th meeting of the Turkey-EU Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) was held in hybrid format on 8 September 2020. Turkey-EU JCC Co-Chairs M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and Panagiotis Gkofas co-chaired the meeting, European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas and Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı also attended the meeting.

Representatives of employees, employers, tradesmen and women's organizations attended the meeting.

TOBB Preident and JCC Co-Chairman M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, TESK President Bendevi Palandöken, Memur-Sen Chairman Ali Yalçın, Turkey Kamu–Sen Chairman Önder Kahveci, TİSK President Özgur Burak Akkol, HAK-İş President Mahmut Arslan, Türk-İş Education Secretary Eyüp Alemdar, Economic Development Foundation President Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, General Secretary of the Turkish Banks Association Assoc. Dr. Ekrem Keskin, TOBB EU Compliance Commission Secretary General Filiz Akkaş, TİSK Secretary General Akansel Koç attended the meeting from Turkey.

The meeting focused on issues such as Turkey-EU relations, the issue of refugees, the updating of the Customs Union, the revival of Turkey-EU accession negotiations and the contributions of the Erasmus program.

The importance of civil society dialogue in relations was emphasized.