In his remarks, Mehmet Öğütçü reflects upon Turkey’s elections on 14 and 28 May 2023 and the implications which Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s winning yet another mandate to run the country for the next five years may have for Europe. He examines whether there is any prospect of resetting EU-Turkey relations and what could be done to improve the dialogue between Brussels and Ankara on key issues such as energy, climate change, migration and tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Mr Öğütçü discusses whether Turkey’s new government will be able to change course from its current approach to relations with Moscow, as well as Turkey’s role in NATO enlargement.

About the Speaker:

Mehmet Öğütçü is the Chair of the London Energy Club. He is a former advisor to the Prime Minister, and diplomat in China, Belgium, France and the UK. Previously, Öğütçü served as a principal administrator for Asia-Pacific and Latin America at International Energy Agency and head of investment outreach for the OECD. He was director for BG Group (now part of Shell) and Chair of the advisory board of Invensys plc and the Middle East Institute, Washington DC. He was also a board member of Genel Energy plc, Şişecam, Yasar Holding. He is now Chair of the London Energy Club, the Bosphorus Energy Club and Global Resources Partners, UK.