Why Türkiye wants closer customs union with EU

Today, European Council President Charles Michel is in Budapest to try to find a deal with Viktor Orbán on the first two of those issues, with the Hungarian prime minister in a bombastic, uncompromising mood.

Here, our trade correspondent outlines Türkiye’s demands for the EU customs union, while our man in Warsaw explains why prime minister-expectant Donald Tusk is still waiting for his shot to form a government, according to Financial Times.

Special treatment Closer ties with Türkiye can be an uncomfortable topic in Brussels. Now, Ankara is pushing for a more comprehensive customs union, writes Andy Bounds. Context: Brussels opened membership talks with Türkiye in 2005 but they have languished, though President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently called for progress. Both formed a customs union in 1995, which allows industrial and processed agricultural goods to flow freely — at least in theory. Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Türkiye’s industry minister, told the FT that the deal needed modernising to remove bottlenecks, and should include a broader set of goods and services.

One big complaint is the long queue of lorries at the Turkish-Bulgarian border due to border checks. “Turkish products are freely able to be sent into the customs union. But the trucks which are carrying Turkish products are not able to travel everywhere in Europe. And also the drivers are not able to travel,” Kacir said. “That kind of thing should be solved.” He also said ecommerce and services should be included in its customs union, as well as farm produce: “We should also have a talk on the agricultural side together.” The European Commission said visa and vehicle access were up to member states. “Road transport within the EU is strongly regulated and not fully liberalised,” a spokesperson said. “It is for the member states to give to the European commission the mandate to negotiate EU road transport agreements with third countries,” the spokesperson added. To date, only Switzerland has such an arrangement, alongside temporary deals with Ukraine and Moldova because of the Russian attack on the former. Kacir’s other plea could also fall on deaf ears.

He said that Türkiye should be exempted from the EU’s carbon border tax, which starts in 2026. The levy will ensure that producers of imported steel, concrete and other materials do not undercut EU manufacturers who have to pay for their carbon emissions. “Clearly we think that the border of the customs union should be the border of the carbon trade,” Kacir said.