Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Today, in Brussels, European Commission Executive Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and his counterpart, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Polat, held the first high-level dialogue between the European Union and Turkey on trade.
According to a European statement, the meeting came in line with the Joint Statement on relations between the European Union and Turkey as of November 2023 and the European Council’s conclusions. The statement added, “The new high-level dialogue on trade aims to address remaining bilateral trade obstacles and discuss further areas of cooperation, in particular ways to prevent... Circumventing the European Union and sanctions. A round table is also held to exchange views with stakeholders on issues related to trade and the customs union.
Following Turkey's removal of 11 trade barriers (out of 26) since early 2021, in addition to working in the ad hoc bilateral trade working group, the two sides will discuss ways to remove additional priority barriers. The cooperation discussion will focus on topics such as green transition, digital trade and trade defence.
The EU and Turkey will discuss cooperation to prevent the re-export of “shared high priority” items to Russia, in light of the current geopolitical context.
The High-Level Dialogue on Trade meeting is an important milestone towards addressing the current difficulties in implementing the Customs Union, ensuring its effective application to all Member States and paving the way towards its modernization.