Turkey was granted candidate status for EU membership at the Helsinki European Council of 10-11 December 1999, which is to serve as a roadmap for Turkey’s integration into the EU. Following the European Commission’s Regular Report on Turkey on 6 October 2004, at the European Council meeting of 17 December 2004 it was agreed to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005. That signified a landmark in EU-Turkey relations. In this context, political, social and economic integration of Turkey into the EU is a crucial issue. Education and research constitute an important dimension for Turkey’s adoption to the Acquis Communitaire and Copenhagen Criteria.

In keeping with that, Turkish universities should have an active role in Turkey’s integration into the EU in terms of research and education. Middle East Technical University being aware of its responsibility towards the realization of that goal plays an important role in this process with its determination to support relevant institutions and contribute to the process whenever need be. The University’s leading role in society and its experience are significant assets to boost Turkey’s integration into Europe in the fields of research and education.

METU-Office of EU Affairs, following the directives of the President of Middle East Technical University Prof. Dr. Ural Akbulut, was established in 2000 as the first of its kind in all Turkish universities. The Office has two main areas to focus:

EDUCATION

Coordination of knowledge sharing and organisation of educational programs, (with the exception of Erasmus program), constitute the major duties of the EU Office in the field of education. In this context, analysis and improvement of the education opportunities (Socrates, Youth, Leonardo), dissemination of the relevant information to  people and institutions, organizing info days are at the core of our responsibilities.

RESEARCH and PROJECTS

The priorities and the job description of the Office of EU Affairs include providing technical support to the academicians in project writing, organizing info days and seminars, establishment of university-wide communication, provision of an improved network among national and international universities, enterprises, centers and institutions, ease the way of our academic staff to participate in and contribute to different areas of research. For this purpose, effective information flow to the relevant faculties and departments has a crucial role in realizing the goals of the Office.

The priorities and responsibilities of the Office of EU Affairs are very closely related to strengthening the academic and research ties between Turkish and European Universities; setting up of extensive networks and  providing as much technical support as possible to international research projects in general and Framework Programs project  proposal writing, in particular.  The Office expects to have the contributions and support of the academic staff to achieve all its goals marked on its roadmap.

The success of the Office of EU Affairs will be the success of Middle East Technical University.