Markus Slevogt, President of the European Turkish Trade and Investment Council (ETTIC), said that the European Union (EU) should intensify relations with Türkiye, update the Customs Union and more cooperation in the field of defense.
Slevogt spoke at the program organized by ETTIC at the Press Club in Brussels about the latest developments in the process of updating the Turkish-EU Customs Union.
Pointing out that they are approaching the issues between Türkiye and the EU, Slevogt said that they are trying to redefine the strategic relationship and show a realistic and applicable approach to help them develop further. “European companies have invested 210 billion euros in Türkiye since 2002. This is a huge investment amount.” he said.
Reminding that ETTIC was created by the European Chambers of Bilateral Commerce representing countries that invest intensively in Türkiye, Slevogt said that they are working to establish a better trade and investment between Türkiye and the EU. “Europe is the largest trade partner in Türkiye. We are talking about mutual trade worth 230 billion euros on an annual basis. Türkiye is doing more than 40 percent of all trade with EU countries and businesses.” he said.
Slevogt stated that they want to ensure that European investments in Türkiye are represented directly and sufficiently with EU institutions in Brussels.
Old version Windows analogy to the Customs Union
“This means that we are still working with Windows 2.0 version,” Slevogt recalled that the update of the update on the Customs Union, which was based on the 1970s and was implemented in 1995, has been discussed intensively for the last 10 years. evaluated.
Slevogt said that the Customs Union is inadequate in the face of the increase in business and trade volume with artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence and said that the Customs Union should be developed in modernization and new areas. Slevogt emphasized the importance of include elements such as agriculture, services, e-commerce, public tenders and resolution of disputes within the scope of the Customs Union.
“On both sides, we see that policy is very mixed with work, trade and investment. We are business people. We leave politics to politicians. We want to separate politics with work.” Slevogt, the Customs Union of the update of politics should not intervene in the issue said.
Slevogt, the EU’s recent concentration of relations with Türkiye is a strategic necessity, stating, especially in the field of defense, the importance of further cooperation, he noted.
