International Town Twinning Summit Gathered Key Stakeholders From EU and Turkish Local Authorities

The two-days virtual “TWINT-International Town Twinning Summit” organised as the closing event of the "Town Twinning Programme between Turkey and the EU" started on 12 November 2020. The opening speeches of the event were delivered by Head of European Union Delegation to Turkey, Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs, Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı, President of Union of Municipalities of Turkey and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Fatma Şahin, President of the Congress of the Council of Europe Anders Knape and President of the Presidency Local Administration Policies Council Prof. Dr. Şükrü Karatepe. The event hosted representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Union of Municipalities, the Union of Provinces and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation, local administrations and NGOs benefiting from the programme, CEMR (the Council of European Municipalities and Regions) member unions and their members, other stakeholders and international organizations.

What is the scope of the Town Twinning programme between Turkey and the EU?

The Town Twinning programme was composed of a service (technical assistance) component and a grant scheme. The service component aims at building capacity of key institutions (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Directorate for EU Affairs, Union of Municipalities, Union of Provinces and Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation) and improving administrative capacity at local level in the EU Accession process. The grant scheme complemented the technical assistance component and created platforms for dialogue and exchange between local administrations in Turkey and in EU Member States, in areas relevant to the EU accession.

What are the outcomes?

With an overall EU contribution of EUR 1.65 million to the service component and EUR 2.4 million to the grant scheme, the projects fostered cooperation between approximately 60 local administrations and NGOs from 19 different provinces in Turkey and 12 EU Member States on a wide range of areas such as education, environment, health, culture, tourism, energy, innovation and public administration. The Town Twinning Road Map, which includes the analysis of a legal and financial framework for future town twinning initiatives between Turkey and the EU, prepared as part of the project is available at the following web-site:

https://www.yereldeab.org.tr/sehireslestirme/AnalizveYolHaritas%C4%B1.aspx

On the occasion of the event, the Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey, Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, highlighted the potential of the local authorities to influence the decision-making at the national level, and the capacity to promote a common European identity by bringing citizens and societies closer to each other. “This Town Twinning project is an accomplished example of its kind. Our project helped local administrations to enhance involvement of their citizens and strengthen their confidence to present new, high quality projects in collaboration with civil society organisations. The common theme of the supported grant projects has been Europe, a democratic, united, globally-oriented Union, enriched by its cultural diversity. We have funded innovative ideas and good practices to enhance tolerance and mutual understanding between EU and Turkish citizens, by respecting and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity, while contributing to intercultural and civil society dialogue. I also hope that this two-days event will allow its participants to explore the potential of town twinning activities as a joint response to the current challenges, such as Covid-19 pandemic, which is both a health challenge but also a challenge to the social-economic development in our cities”, said the Ambassador.

For further information please contact the Delegation:

Mr.Gülşad Yalpu Tel: +90 312 459 88 64

e-mail: gulsad.yalpu@eeas.europa.eu

For press inquiries please contact:

Miray Akdağ M +90 532 624 93 56, Tel : +90 459 88 77 

e-mail:miray.akdag@eeas.europa.eu