The European Union Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said Tuesday that Turkish companies are an integral part of the EU value chains and have become strong competitors in the European market, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
The commissioner delivered these remarks while speaking at the event titled "Global Challenges, European Union and Türkiye: The Role of the Business World," organized by the Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the EU, Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı, and the head of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSIAD), Orhan Turan, at the event in Brussels, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the republic.
Conveying joy in marking the centennial of the Republic of Türkiye, Varhelyi said: "In the past century, we witnessed a comprehensive transformation, unprecedented socio-economic development, innovation and progress."
"Türkiye is a candidate country and a key partner of the EU. Türkiye is an important NATO ally and a strategic partner in a challenging region," he said.
Varhelyi pointed out that since taking office at the EU Commission in 2019, he has diligently worked on improving EU-Türkiye relations.
Touching upon the Customs Union, the commissioner acknowledged the success achieved through the union. "Despite the challenging global economic environment, it has led to a significant increase in trade and investment," he said, reiterating that Türkiye is the seventh largest trading partner of the European Union, whereas the EU is Türkiye's largest trading partner.
In addition, he recalled the growth in bilateral trade facilitated by the Customs Union, and said, "In the past year, the bilateral trade between the EU and Türkiye that stood at approximately 200 billion euros ($217 billion) reached a new dimension."
The EU-Türkiye Customs Union came into force in 1995 but is limited to industrial goods and processed agricultural products. Türkiye is the only non-EU country with a customs union agreement with the bloc.
Moreover, emphasizing that Turkish businesses have full access to the EU internal market, Varhelyi said, "Turkish companies are an integral part of European value chains and have become strong competitors in our market."
"We still have a lot of work to do. We are more engaged than ever. We may not agree on everything, but there are more things that unite us than divide us," the EU official further said.
Explaining that intensifying cooperation is mutually beneficial in the current geopolitical environment, Varhelyi mentioned positive progress could be made in areas such as green and digital transformation, energy, industry, innovation, technology, migration and security.
"With its dynamic and modern economy, strong and educated workforce, and geographical proximity, Türkiye should be a natural choice for the EU," said Varhelyi.
He expressed that the closer relationship in the new period would have political, economic and cultural benefits.
Ambassador Kaymakcı for his part stated that Türkiye "is already part of the EU economically, commercially and financially" adding "that the country is only politically not within the EU."
Recalling that the founder of the Turkish republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk developed industrial, commercial and financial policies from the early years of the republic, Kaymakcı said, "We had only five factories at the time of the establishment of the republic, but today we hold up thousands of factories and thousands of joint ventures with Europeans in Türkiye."
"Türkiye's innovative industrialization policy will continue. Our government is determined in this process," Kaymakcı said.
He also expressed hope that the EU Leaders Summit in December would open up positive momentum for Türkiye's accession perspective.
Türkiye has the most extended history with the union and the most prolonged negotiation process. While being a formal candidate for membership since 1999, it was excluded from the enlargement picture in the last report published by the EU last week, with Ankara being critical of the report, terming it as “biased.”
Türkiye for years anticipated to see concrete results from the dragged-out process, especially for an update on the customs union and visa liberalization.
