ANKARA
Turkey and EU officials have agreed to begin official negotiations aimed at updating the custom union agreement, which fell short of satisfying Turkey’s demands, Economy Minister of Turkey Nihat Zeybekci has said.
Zeybekci said on Tuesday at a press conference with European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström: "We are proud to initiate a new phase which can be seen as a milestone in our relations with the EU Customs Union."
He went on: "First, our expectations from the process are to enable Turkey to participate in the EU's consultative and decision-making mechanisms.
“Second is finding permanent solutions to the problems suffered due to the compatibility of the EU’s free-trade agreements with third countries. And third is the removal of land route quotes.”
Zeybekci said both sides also aimed to deepen trade relations in agricultural, public procurements and services sector as well as enabling Turkey to participate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said that, since current custom agreement did not include services, investments, public procurements and some agricultural products, it was time to change it to a more inclusive character.
She said: "Currently, as you know, trade relations between the EU and Turkey cover industrial goods and certain agricultural products and these relations are based on very old instruments.
"The world’s economy is becoming increasingly interrelated, that’s why it is high time to reorganize our custom union agreement.”
She said they would start preparations, make impact analyses, hold consultations and apply to the EU Council to get authorization to conduct negotiations as soon as possible.
Turkish officials have repeatedly criticized future free-trade agreements signed by the EU with other countries, such as the U.S., which would effectively open Turkey’s market to exports from such states as Ankara was a signatory of the Customs Union Agreement.
But they would simultaneously effectively block Turkish exports from benefiting from tax advantages in the same states, should Ankara not be a party to the free-trade deals negotiated by the EU.
