Agencies
The EU plans to hold a high-level dialogue with Türkiye on the economy in upcoming months, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said on Tuesday during a session of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels.
"We appreciate what Türkiye has done in the field of aid to refugees,” Kos said, recalling that the EU decided to establish more dialogue with Türkiye last year.
"We plan to establish a high-level dialogue with Türkiye on the economy in March or April,” Kos was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency (AA).
This would mark the first such meeting in six years, as the last Türkiye-EU High-Level Economic Dialogue Meeting was held in Istanbul on Feb. 28, 2019.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made one of the first foreign visits of her second term to Türkiye on Dec. 17 and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The EU issued positive messages on the economy at the news conference held after the meeting, the main topic of which was the developments in Syria.
Türkiye and the EU enjoy strong trade ties, yet the business community has often complained regarding the process of obtaining visas amid lengthy processes and a growing number of EU visa rejections.
For decades, Türkiye and the bloc have had good trade ties and cooperation on migration. However, relations have been strained over some issues, such as the prolonged process of modernization and expansion of the scope of the current customs union agreement.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat pledged on Tuesday to continue to deepen and develop trade relations with the bloc, saying Ankara expects the customs union negotiations with the EU to gain momentum as the High-Level Dialogue on Trade improved their relations and cooperation.
Following his meeting with Thomas Hans Ossowski, head of the EU’s delegation to Türkiye, Bolat said on X that Türkiye "attaches great importance to the multifaceted development of its relations with the EU.”
"Türkiye advocates an inclusive EU trade policy and cooperation in the fields of green and digital transformation,” he said.
"In this direction, we will continue to deepen and develop our trade relations with the EU with determination,” the minister added.
Türkiye and the EU held their first High-Level Dialogue on Trade on July 8, 2024.