# Ministry of European Union Affairs (Turkey)

The Ministry of European Union Affairs (Turkish: Avrupa Birliği Bakanlığı ) was a ministry of the Turkish government responsible for the accession process between the Republic of Turkey and the European Union. Formed on June 29, 2011 after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won a third term in the 2011 general election. The ministry was responsible for co-ordinating negotiations and accession projects throughout the 81 provinces of Turkey to develop relations between Turkey and the European Union. The minister responsible concurrently served as the chief negotiator during the accession process. The Minister concurrently served as the chief negotiator during accession talks with the EU.

## History

The ministry was established after the governing Justice and Development Party won a third term in the general election of 2011, in time for the 61st government of Turkey. Previously, European Union negotiations were handled by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry has been headed by six ministers in the past, namely Egemen Bağış (2011–2013), Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (2013–2014), Volkan Bozkır (2014 – August 2015 and again from November 2015 to 2016), Ali Haydar Konca (August–September 2015), Beril Dedeoğlu (September–November 2015) and Ömer Çelik, in office from 24 May 2016 onwards.
Following the declaration of the new government after the presidential election in 2018, the ministry was dissolved, and it was replaced by the Directorate for EU Affairs, a sub-unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

## Organisation

The Ministry of European Union Affairs operated the following 16 directorates in 2015:
| Directorate | Administration | Administration |
| Directorate | Management | Position |
| Directorate for Political Affairs | Ege Erkoçak | Director |
| Directorate for Accession Policy | Elif Kurşunlu | Director |
| Directorate of Sectoral Policies | Aylin Çağlayan Özcan | Director |
| Directorate of Social, Regional and Innovative Policies | Kayhan Özüm | Director |
| Directorate of Economic and Financial Policies | Aylin Sakızlıoğlu | Director |
| Directorate of Single Market and Competition | Lale Çelik | Director |
| Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries | Gökhan Aralan | Director |
| Directorate of Financial Cooperation | Beyza Turan | Director |
| Directorate of Civil Society, Communication and Culture | Anıl Turpçu | Director |
| Directorate of Project Implementation | Bülent Özcan | Director |
| Directorate of European Union Law | Özlen Üstün Kavalalı | Director |
| Directorate of Translation Coordination | İlksen Hilâl Tanrıkurt | Director |
| Directorate of Training and Institution Building | Osman Düzel | Director |
| Directorate of Research and Documentation | Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu | Director |
| Directorate of Administrative Services | Mehmet Nuri Erikel İhsan Kaan Erkman Mustafa Yılmaz | Director Head of Department Head of Department |
| Department of Strategic Development | Bengül Gökcan | Head of Department |

## List of ministers of European Union affairs

Between 2011 and 2018, six Ministers were responsible for this department.
| # | Minister | Term start | Term end | Party | Government |
| 1 | Egemen Bağış (1970– ) | 29 June 2011 | 25 December 2013 | Justice and Development Party | 61st |
| 2 | Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (1968– ) | 25 December 2013 | 29 August 2014 | Justice and Development Party | 61st |
| 3 | Volkan Bozkır (1950– ) | 29 August 2014 | 28 August 2015 | Justice and Development Party | 62nd |
| 4 | Ali Haydar Konca (1950– ) | 28 August 2015 | 22 September 2015 | Peoples' Democratic Party | 63rd |
| 5 | Beril Dedeoğlu (1961–2019) | 22 September 2015 | 17 November 2015 | Independent | 63rd |
| (3) | Volkan Bozkır (1950– ) | 24 November 2015 | 24 May 2016 | Justice and Development Party | 64th |
| 6 | Ömer Çelik (1968– ) | 24 May 2016 | 9 July 2018 | Justice and Development Party | 65th |