26.10.2022 İstanbul
The Türkiye-EU High Level Business Dialogue meeting was hosted by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) President and European Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBRES) Vice President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and EUROCHAMBRES President Luc Frieden in İstanbul.
The meeting was
attended by Trade Minister Mehmet Muş, European Commission Member for
Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs Faruk Kaymakcı and representatives of the business world from Türkiye
and the EU.
TOBB President and
EUROCHAMBRES Vice President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, in his speech at the
opening of the meeting, stated that the war in Ukraine makes life difficult for
everyone, stressing that high inflation, energy supply, scarcity and high
energy prices have a direct negative impact on economies and societies.
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed
out that it is important for the EU and Turkish business circles, the Turkish
government and the European Commission to come together and talk about the
current situation and joint solutions.
Reminding that the
event is a part of the Türkiye-EU Business Dialogue Project, Hisarcıklıoğlu
said, “Türkiye is a candidate country for EU membership. Türkiye and the EU are
in the Customs Union. Bilateral trade in goods has increased more than 4 times
in the last 25 years.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that Türkiye is the 6th largest trading partner of the EU, adding
that the EU is by far Türkiye's largest import and export partner, as well as
the main source of investment, one-third of Türkiye's imports come from the EU and
41 percent of the country's exports go to the EU, the total trade in goods
between the EU and Türkiye reaches 132 billion euros.
Pointing out that
Türkiye's exports to the EU are around 63 billion euros, Hisarcıklıoğlu said,
“These exports consist mainly of machinery and transportation vehicles,
clothing, agriculture and raw materials. EU exports to Türkiye amounted to 70
billion euros. These exports are dominated by machinery and transportation
equipment, chemicals, fuel and mining products.”
Stating that the
two-way service trade between the EU and Türkiye has reached 27 billion euros,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We know that we can do more as the business world. We
need the support of the Turkish government, EU member states and the European
Commission. In the era of the Green Deal, we see the modernization of the
Customs Union as the empowerment we need most.”
- Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı
Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Director for European Union (EU) Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı
expressed their pleasure to hold the meeting in İstanbul and EU Commissioner
for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that they would like to
see it more often in Türkiye.
Kaymakcı stated that an
important issue that should not be forgotten in Türkiye-EU relations is the
accession process and continued: “The importance of bilateral trade was
underlined in the speeches. Investment levels, the level of trading were
mentioned. It's beautiful. Since the Customs Union between Türkiye and the EU
began in 1996, a trade volume of 1.3 trillion euros has taken place. This is
also important. This is a figure that can make a difference in Europe if we can
cooperate more, if we can have more dialogue.”
Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Kaymakcı stated that Türkiye wants
to be a part of the European emission trading system and pointed out that the
increasingly complex visa procedures should be facilitated.
Kaymakcı, who invited
Oliver Varhelyi and the commissioners on the visa system to work together,
continued: “We need a visa facilitation until travel with the Schengen visa is
possible. Our business community needs to be prioritized in this regard. We are
also facing a serious problem in terms of transportation. It needs help in
terms of connecting with the rest of Europe. Not only Turkish businesspeople,
but also the European business community wants Europe to start negotiations to
modernize the Customs Union as soon as possible.”
Kaymakcı pointed out
that there is still a serious blockade in high-level dialogue meetings with the
EU. He pointed out that high-level dialogue meetings on energy, transport,
economy and foreign policy should also be held.
- “The whole world is
going through a very important change”
Trade Minister Mehmet
Mus said there is a long-term and important cooperation between Türkiye and the
EU covering many areas such as trade, security, migration and energy.
Emphasizing that trade
has a central role in the relations between Türkiye and the EU among all these
areas, Muş stated that the Ankara Agreement and the Customs Union constitute
the skeleton of the cooperation between the parties.
Muş stated that the
trade volume between the EU and Türkiye during the Customs Union period is
expected to reach 200 billion dollars by the end of this year with an increase
of about 6 times, and noted that the Customs Union has enabled the
establishment of integrated value chains thanks to the implementation of common
trade policies and legislation in many areas such as competition policy and
intellectual property rights.
Stating that EU and
Turkish companies have created employment and shared prosperity in both the EU
and Türkiye in this context, Muş pointed out the difficulties they face in this
process since the 25 years of the Customs Union have been completed.
- “We need to keep
Türkiye with us as an important business partner”
EUROCHAMBRES President
Luc Frieden, in his speech at the meeting, which he attended via video
conference, stated that there is nothing better than establishing a dialogue
between business circles to strengthen the relationship between Türkiye and the
EU, noting that this high-level business dialogue takes place at a time of
unprecedented geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges.
“We have a war right
next door. We have extremely high energy prices. We have inflation causing
great problems for the people of Europe and in this context I think it is more
important than ever to work together instead of alienating each other.”
Emphasizing that the
economic relationship between the EU and Türkiye is quite deep, Frieden said,
“More needs to be done. We need to keep Türkiye with us as an important
business partner. Then we need to modernize the Customs Union,” he said.
- High-level
participation from business organizations
Foreign Economic
Relations Board (DEİK) President Nail Olpak, Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen
and Craftsmen (TESK) President Bendevi Palandöken, Turkish Enterprise and
Business Confederation (TURKONFED) Vice Chairman Mehmet Gün, Turkish
Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD) Vice Chairwoman Serpil
Veral and Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions (TİSK) Deputy Chairman
Suat Çalbıyık attended the meeting, the second part of which was closed to the
press.
Osman Nuri Önügören,
Chairman of the Diplomatic Relations Commission of the Independent
Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MÜSİAD), Fikret Kileci, Vice
President of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Emine Erdem, President of
the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye (KAGİDER), Ayhan Zeytinoğlu,
President of the Economic Development Foundation (IKV), Nurten Öztürk,
President of the TOBB Women Entrepreneurs Council, as well as foreign
businessmen were present at the meeting.