Relevant Institutions in Turkey

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for EU Affairs (DEUA)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for EU Affairs (DEUA) is the National IPA Coordinator (NIPAC) for EU pre-accession assistance to Turkey and thereby has the overall coordination for EU pre-accession activities.

As an integral aspect of its overall coordination role for EU pre-accession activities, the DEUA has specifically focused on capacity building of civil society organizations, public institutions and local authorities regarding the use of EU funds and implementation of EU acquis at local level.

The DEUA is also experienced in town twinning activities, particularly via the previously implemented “Building Capacity for EU Affairs in Governorates” Project (VABpro).

The DEUA is the Beneficiary of, and actively involved in the implementation of the “Technical Assistance for Town Twinning Between Turkey and the EU” Project (www.yereldeab.org.tr/sehireslestirme), and monitoring of the Grant Projects under “Town Twinning Action Between Turkey and EU Grant Scheme”.

Detailed information on the DEUA may be accessed via the website at the following address: www.yereldeab.org.tr

 

The Union of Municipalities of Turkey (UMT)

The Union of Municipalities of Turkey (UMT) was established in 1945 as a public benefit association to safeguard the rights and interests of municipalities. As per the Council of Ministers decision no. 2002/4559 of 21 August 2002, the UMT attained the status of the local authority union for all municipalities in Turkey. The UMT, being the formal representative of all municipalities in Turkey, was granted the public legal entity status in 2005 as per the Article 20 of the Law No. 5355 on Local Authority Unions, under the scope of the Local Administration Reform (LAR) process.

All municipalities in Turkey (currently 1.397 in total) are natural members of the UMT, as stipulated in the respective legislation.

The UMT is a member of key international organizations of local authorities, including the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

The UMT is one of the key institutions focusing on town twinning projects in Turkey and implemented many town twinning projects. As an integral part of its mandate, the UMT also supports the municipalities in Turkey on the way to the accession to the EU.

Detailed information on the UMT may be accessed via the website at the following address: www.tbb.gov.tr

 

The Union of Provinces (UP)

The Union of Provinces (UP) was established in 1985 (via former Law No. 1580 on Municipality) as the Union of Provincial Services. In 2005, in the same context as UMT, UP was granted the status of the national union representing special provincial administrations.

It is stipulated in Article 20 of the Law No. 5355 on Local Authority Unions enacted in 2005 that only two unions may be established at the country level, one representing the special provincial administrations (SPAs), and the other representing the municipalities. Whereas the UMT was established as the national representative of municipalities, the UP was established to represent the SPAs at the national level. The SPAs are currently operational in 51 provinces (all provinces except the 30 provinces where metropolitan municipalities are established by Law No. 5216 enacted in 2004 and Law No. 6360 enacted in 2012.)

The main tasks of the UP include the provision of guidance to local authorities, promote their cooperation and collaboration, support the exchange of technical and administrative knowledge and experiences, and assist in dissemination of best practices. The EU-related objectives of the UP include the supporting of the SPAs in the process of Turkey’s accession to the EU and promoting technical assistance and twinning programs.

Detailed information on the UP may be accessed via the website at the following address: www.vilayetler.gov.tr

 

The Ministry of Interior (MoI)

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) is the principal central authority with regard to the local authorities in general, exercising the administrative tutelage of the central administration over all local authorities pursuant to its specific duties and responsibilities in relation to the regulation of general administration of the provinces and districts and local authorities, and their relations with the central administration.

The broad range of duties and responsibilities of the MoI, delineated particularly in Article 2 of the Law No. 3152 on the Organization and Duties of the MoI (enacted in 1985), encompasses the protection of homeland security and public order, indivisible unity with the country and nation, rights and freedoms laid down by the Constitution, public peace and general morality. The duties and responsibilities of the MoI also include specific duties and responsibilities in relation to the administrative divisions of the country, and the regulation of general administration of the provinces, districts and local authorities, and their relations with the central administration. In this context, MoI is the key central authority responsible for local authorities, and one of the key stakeholders in the EU accession process at the local level by virtue of its principal role in general public administration.

Supported by a significant number of relevant projects, the MoI had significant contributions to increase the knowledge of local authorities and develop their institutional capacity on EU-related issues, as well as endorsing, supporting and promoting the establishment of town twinning relations between local authorities in Turkey and their counterparts in other countries.

The specific duties and responsibilities of the MoI related to local authorities were primarily exercised through its Directorate-General for Local Authorities (DGLA). On the other hand, pursuant to the major governmental restructuring launched on 9 July 2018 via Decree No. 703, the DGLA was abolished and thereby detached from the MoI. Instead, a similar department was established under the Ministry of Environment and Urbanism to undertake certain functions previously carried out by the GDLA.

Detailed information on the MoI may be accessed via the website at the following address: www.icisleri.gov.tr

 

The Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation (MoEU)

The Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation (MoEU) was established in 1991 with a governmental decree (No. 443), and merged with Ministry of Forestry to form Ministry of Environment and Forestry in 2003 and finally merged with Ministry of Urbanisation to form the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation in 2011 via the governmental decree (No. 644).

The MoEU has a central body in Ankara and provincial directorates in each of the 81 provinces of Turkey. The Environment Law (No. 2872 enacted in 1983) determines the MoEU as the primary responsible authority for environmental issues, such as increasing public awareness and providing access to related information.

The Directorate-General for Local Authorities under the Ministry of Interior was abolished via the Decree No. 703 enacted on 9 July 2018, and it was restructured as a new department with the same name under the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation.

Detailed information on the MoEU may be accessed via the website at the following address: www.csb.gov.tr