Mission Statement

CETEUS (Centre for Turkey and European Union Studies) is a 2016-founded centre at the University of Cologne. With its focus on research and teaching in EU and Turkey related affairs and on the institutional evolution of the EU, it continues the work of the Jean Monnet Chair for European Politics of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wessels.

CETEUS activities at the University of Cologne benefit from a strong and broad EU-Turkey network and longstanding tradition in teaching EU studies of the staff of the former Jean Monnet Chair. The centre offers seminars, conferences and public discussions on EUTurkey relations at the University of Cologne and beyond. CETEUS has a strong link to the TurkishGerman University (TAU) in Istanbul. Prof. Dr. Wessels, director of CETEUS, is not only the academic leader of the TAU’s MA program ‘European and International Affairs’, but also vice-president of the German consortium that founded the TAU. The centre entertains an active and close exchange between staff from both universities and offers joint seminars for German and Turkish students.

CETEUS research activities target EU-Turkey relations and links to contemporary Turkey studies. They are embedded in an EU-wide network and founded on close relations to leading universities in Turkey. Within its research projects the centre engages in promoting academic exchange with young researchers from Germany, the EU and Turkey aiming at integrating them into the European Research Area.