“Stepping up EU-Turkey Cooperation on Support of Refugees and Migration Management and on Counter-Terrorism”

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ORSAM, together with the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) and the IPLI Foundation (IPLI), organized a conference entitled "Stepping up EU-Turkey Cooperation on Support of Refugees and Migration Management and on Counter-Terrorism" on 16 November 2015. The conference brought together various experts to share their analysis and insights on the impact of the conflict in Syria and Iraq Turkey-EU relations, cooperation in support of refugees and migration management and the cooperation on counter-terrorism.

During the conference, it was mentioned that Turkey's cooperation with Europe is vital for putting an end to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Since neither regional nor international mechanisms required for resolving these conflicts are absent, Turkey-EU cooperation becomes prominent especially in the reconstruction of the regional security.

Another issue addressed during the conference is the phenomenon of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), which occupies a prominent space in the common threat perceptions of Europe and Turkey. It was estimated that there are currently 35,000 foreign terrorist fighters in the conflict zone. It was also found out that one out of every three FTFs is likely return to his or her state of origin, and one in seven is likely to engage in terrorist activity. Under the light of these facts Turkey-EU cooperation is of high importance for the security of both Turkey and EU. It was also underlined during the conference that Turkey-EU cooperation is good at the operational level (in terms of information and intelligence sharing), but further close cooperation is needed for preventing radicalization and extremism

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