Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Updating the Customs Union meets the interests of both Turkey and the European Union (EU), the Turkish Ministry for EU Affairs told Trend Aug. 3.
The Customs Union’s updating is not a unilateral demand of Turkey, said the ministry.
Turkey is the only country, which is in the Customs Union without being a member of the EU. Turkey can export about 15,000 commodity items to the EU countries.
Negotiations on updating the Customs Union between Ankara and the EU began in Brussels on June 13.
The ministry said that Germany’s demand to freeze negotiations with Turkey on modernization of the Customs Union contradicts the spirit of negotiations between the EU and Turkey.
It should be noted that earlier, the German government demanded from the European Union to exert financial pressure on Ankara. Moreover, the government of Germany thinks that the EU should freeze negotiations with Turkey on the modernization of the Customs Union.
“Updating the Customs Union can contribute to the growth of trade turnover between Turkey and the EU,” added the ministry.
Updating the Customs Union will give several advantages to Turkey. First of all, Turkey will get free access to European markets for selling its agricultural products. Secondly, the quota for Turkish cargo carriers will be abolished. Thirdly, investors from both sides will get an opportunity to freely participate in the privatization of public property.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), 64 percent of foreign investments in Turkey account for EU countries.
Turkey is one of the five major foreign trade partners of the EU. Trade turnover between Turkey and the EU totaled $145.864 billion in 2016 that is by 2.2 percent more than in 2014.
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