On Wednesday 21 December, the European Commission officially called on the Council of the EU to grant it a mandate for negotiating with the Turkish authorities an update of the customs union that has linked the EU and Turkey since 1996.
The Commission is of the opinion that a customs union better reflecting the current stakes would provide substantial benefits to both trade partners. In 20 years, the volume of bilateral trade in goods has quadrupled to stand at €140 billion every year. The trade balance leans to the European side, which makes a €17 billion gain from it. European investment in Turkey accounts for two thirds of the total.
In May, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström mentioned the possibility of reforming the structure and operation of the customs union between the EU and Turkey so as to take account of the EU enlargements and the conclusion of free trade agreements with other trade partners in the world (see EUROPE 11313). Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zybekçi had not hidden his country's interest in the trade negotiations between the EU and the USA, before they were put on the back burner. He had argued for the inclusion of all services, agricultural goods and public procurement in the customs union (which especially covers agricultural goods and a few industrial products). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)