Brussels, 15/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - Adopted by 23 votes in favour, with 2 votes against at the International Trade Committee on Wednesday 14 July, the report by Metin Kazak (ALDE, Bulgaria) underlines progress made in EU-Turkey trade relations but states that the customs union mechanism needs to be made fully functional, bureaucracy simplified, and remaining tariff and non-tariff barriers removed. The report also calls on Ankara to implement the additional protocol to the EC-Turkey association agreement in full, as failure to do so could seriously hamper accession negotiations with the EU. The Parliament is calling on both partners to maintain open trade and investment regimes.
The Kazak report calls for all unnecessary barriers to EU-Turkey trade (Turkey is the EU27's 7th largest trading partner), such as non-recognition of certification, duplicative testing, multiple inspections, technical regulations and standards, to be removed. The Parliament also urged Turkey to avoid discriminating against foreign firms by giving a 15% price advantage to Turkish bidders for public procurement contracts. The Kazak report also notes that counterfeit products, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, are a major problem in EU-Turkey trade relations and reduce Turkey's attractiveness to foreign direct investors. The report lists non-tariff barriers faced by Turkish exporters, particularly recurrent visa problems for Turkish businessmen and lorry drivers, which restrict their movement, and Turkey's difficulty in concluding free trade agreements (FTAs) with third countries that already have FTAs with the EU. The EU-Turkey customs union, established in 1996, has subsequently helped bring about a considerable degree of market integration, especially in the field of the free movement of goods. MEPs consider that the customs union, which covers all industrial products and processed agricultural goods, could be extended to cover other areas such as services and public procurement.
The Kazak report will be voted on at the plenary session next September, in Strasbourg. (E.H.transl.fl)