Chief Negotiator for Turkish Accession to the European Union 24 May 2016. With formal accession talks between Turkey and the European Union beginning in the years 2004 and 2005, the role of Chief Negotiator was established to represent the Turkish delegation during the membership negotiations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Ali Babacan as the first Chief Negotiator on 17 January 2005, while the then-Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül became the president of the Turkish delegation. When the Ministry of European Union Affairs was established on 29 June 2011 before Erdoğan formed his third and final government, the Minister responsible for the new department began serving concurrently as the Chief
Recep Niyaz Niyaz earned his first senior team call-up under Aykut Kocaman and made his professional debut against Manisaspor on 16 January 2012, coming on as a substitution for Henri Bienvenu in the 79th minute. His first professional goal was against Göztepe at the 88th minute at Turkish Cup in Fifth round on 12 December 2012. Recep Niyaz played for the Turkey national under-19 football team, which won the silver medal at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin, Turkey. He also represented Turkey at the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Recep Niyaz Recep Niyaz (, born 2 August 1995) is a Turkish