Customs Union

Ankara will be closely watching when European Union leaders come together today and tomorrow in Brussels with a heavy agenda.

The leaders' summit will be discussing various issues, including restoring free movement and travel, the progress in the bloc's jointly funded stimulus package and how to move forward on international corporate taxation and the bloc's banking union.

The 24-25 June European Council meeting will once again shift its focus to Turkey and to establishing a so-called "positive agenda" (though the discussion will not likely be exhausted).

Turkey has called on the European Union to take concrete steps on the modernization of the customs union and migrant deal ahead of the bloc's pivotal summit later this week where ties with Ankara will be discussed.

While calling on the leaders of the European Union (EU) to make the upcoming summit a turning point for ties between Ankara and Brussels, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on June 20 urged the Union to take decisions for concrete steps for this bid, including a mandate that will authorize the EU Commission to negotiate Customs Union with Turkey.

Updating the 1995 Customs Union will improve the trade and economic relations between Turkey and the European Union, and will offer economic benefits for both parties, the Turkish trade minister said on June 15. 

The CEOs of several U.S.-based companies expressed their interest in investing in Turkey during a video call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported on May 31.

The EU's "green" tax framework and tax breaks dominated a Tuesday session at the 6th Delphi Economic Forum, which is taking place as a "hybrid" event in Athens instead of its usual venue, the Delphi archaeological site in south-central Greece.

European Council President Charles Michel called on Turkey to keep working to resolve disputes with Greece and Cyprus over gas rights in the Mediterranean as he visited Ankara on Tuesday to discuss trade and refugees with President Tayyip Erdogan.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel will visit Turkey on April 6 to hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a bid to revive relations between Ankara and Brussels after last year's tensions.

European Council President Charles Michel said on March 25 that he contacted Turkish officials for planning a visit to Turkey in April.

Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke at a press conference after an EU leaders' summit which was held via video link and completed in one day, although two days were planned.