Mucahithan Avcioglu
04 June 2025•Update: 04 June 2025
ISTANBUL
Türkiye's Trade Ministry on Wednesday said that the Positive Agenda in trade relations with the EU is expanding, which has been reflected in the trade figures between the two parties.
Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic met in Paris at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s Ministerial Council Meeting, a ministry statement said.
It said that during the meeting, the recent developments in global trade and the possibilities for further cooperation between Türkiye and the EU within the scope of the Customs Union in the face of these developments, the issues on the agenda of bilateral trade, and the expectations and demands of our business world, including the difficulties experienced in the EU Schengen visa processes, were discussed in all aspects.
In this framework, it was agreed that the second meeting of the High-Level Trade Dialogue mechanism between Türkiye and the EU will be held on July 1, 2025 in Ankara with the participation of the business world and civil society organizations in order to discuss all issues related to bilateral relations in detail and to discuss concrete cooperation and solution proposals.
The agenda items of the “Trade Dialogue” mechanism, which has been institutionalized at the ministerial level between the EU and Türkiye, were also discussed.
During the meeting, the importance of coordinated action of the EU and Turkish economies in the face of the environment of change and uncertainty in the global economy and trade and increasing protectionist tendencies and the determination to improve bilateral integration were also emphasized.
In addition, it was mutually confirmed that significant progress has been made in overcoming mutual barriers in trade with the EU in the last 2 years and that many positive steps have been taken towards the update of the Customs Union.
According to the statement, joint efforts will continue with the EU to increase the dialogue in the field of trade and economy, which has strengthened in line with the common goals set out in the meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen in Ankara in December last year.
It said that the bilateral trade, which follows a balanced course between the EU and Türkiye on the basis of the strong integration established with the Customs Union, rose by 55% in the last 5 years and reached a volume of $220 billion by the end of 2024, while the EU's share in Türkiye's exports jumped to 43.5% in the first 5 months of 2025.
