Turkish politics were shaken to their core by the attempted military coup on 15 July 2016, and it is increasingly clear that this event will become a defining moment in the country’s contemporary history. The fallout has marked fundamental changes in both Turkey’s domestic and external relations, and this Dialogue sough to examine possible implications of the failed coup on the March 2016 EU-Turkey deal on migration. The stated goal of the agreement is to end irregular migration from Turkey to the EU and replace it instead with legal channels of resettlement. The Dialogue used as its starting point the recent publication of a new research paper by the Democratization Policy Council. This paper examined how the migration deal was negotiated, what flaws exist and whether it is time for a plan B.

Speakers included: Amanda Paul, Senior Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC); Bodo Weber, Senior Associate at the Democratization Policy Council; HE Selim Yenel, Head of Mission of Turkey to the EU; Photis Bourloyannis-Tsangaridis, Desk Officer for Turkey at the EEAS’ Division of Turkey; Lotte Leicht, Director of the Human Rights Watch Brussels Office.