Big changes in trade with Turkey? The EU wants to modernize the customs union

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced on Friday that they had agreed to continue work on modernizing the EU-Turkey customs union and improving its implementation. According to some media, this is a sign that relations between Brussels and Ankara are improving.

The customs union between Turkey and the European Union involves the abolition of customs duties and quantitative restrictions on trade in industrial goods and processed agricultural products between the parties. However, it does not cover most agricultural products, services or public procurement.

Kos met with Fidan on Friday in Ankara. “In the face of changing realities in Europe, we need to look at EU-Turkey relations with fresh eyes. With Hakan Fidan, I discussed the steps necessary to build trust, strengthen our relations, develop regional infrastructure projects and draw from the full potential of our economic relations,” wrote the commissioner on Platform X.

Politicians also issued a joint statement expressing their desire to “modernize the Customs Union and reach its full potential to support competitiveness, economic security and resilience on both sides.” They also welcomed the gradual resumption of European Investment Bank (EIB) operations in Turkey.

Politico wrote on Friday that after years of viewing Turkey as a problem, the European Union now sees it as part of the solution.

According to the website, as peace negotiations in Ukraine gain momentum, Turkey's potential role in the post-war order, especially as a force for peace and a regional mediator in the Black Sea, makes it a key partner for the EU.

“Brussels, however, is taking small steps in relations with a country that is moving away from democracy and whose Islamist leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has imprisoned influential political opponents,” we read in Politico.

Türkiye is a military power. It has the second largest armed forces in NATO and occupies a key strategic position in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Control over the Bosphorus gives it enormous influence on regional security; Ankara played a key role in negotiating the Black Sea Agreement in July 2022, which ensured the safe passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain.

Relations between the EU and Turkey have deteriorated over the years over issues of human rights violations. Türkiye is officially a candidate for EU membership, but accession negotiations have been frozen since 2018.

From Brussels Łukasz Osiński (PAP)

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