Turkey starts study to review EU Customs Union deal

Delivering a speech at an exporters' summit in Istanbul, Turkish State Minister and Chief negotiator for EU Talks Egemen Bagis said Turkey would not have become the 6th biggest economy of the world and the foreign investments to the country would not have increased that much, if it had not signed the Customs Union agreement with the EU.

Noting that the agreement had certain lacking points, Bagis said some parts of the deal should be reassessed.

"Perhaps, we need to review the Customs Union agreement altogether. We have decided to start a preliminary study to renegotiate the agreement with the EU," he said.

"Whether we like it or not, Customs Union agreement is an engagement accepted by Turkey," Bagis said, stating that the sacrifices that could be made by Turkey or the points it would demand should be determined beforehand, if the agreement would be amended.

"We should know what we want when we sit at the negotiation table. We are currently displaying efforts to achieve such goal," he said.

The EU and Turkey are linked by a Customs Union agreement, which came in force on 31 December 1995, pursuant to the 1963 EU-Turkey Association Agreement, which aims at promoting trade and economic relations.

The Customs Union covers all industrial goods, but does not address agriculture (except processed agricultural products), services or public procurement.

/World Bulletin/