Turkey’s Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek stated that he believes that the Customs Union Agreement between the EU and Turkey should be expanded to cover services and agricultural products in the near term, adding: “A few years ago, a study was conducted on the benefits of updating the Customs Union. “It turned out to be beneficial for EU. We can work together again, starting with the fruit on the lower branches of the tree”.
Minister Mehmet Şimşek spoke at the panel titled “Tomorrow’s Europe: Facing Challenges and Shaping the Future” held in Salzburg, Austria.
Sinn Ann, Minister of State for Singapore, Borge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum (WEF), and Pierre Heilbronn, the French President’s Special Representative for Aid and Reconstruction to Ukraine, attended the panel, too.
Şimşek, in his speech here, stated that we live in a very complex and fragmented world order, and that in the last 10 years, global crises have been witnessed on every continent. Şimşek added, “Considering the geopolitical recession, the approaching climate crisis brings even more challenging processes before us.”
Pointing to global tensions, Şimşek said, “There is a great tension between the current dominant power and the developing superpower. So now we are in a multipolar world.” said.
Simsek continued:
“I think in today’s context, you (EU) need Turkey as much as Turkey needs Europe’s transformative power. The EU and Turkey have common values. Therefore, Turkey wants to be in close ties with the EU. Turkey is at the forefront of regional developments. Turkey has become one of the strongest NATO members and a reliable country to count on. Turkey continues to be critical to the security of the West.
We can be a part of the solution in many ways in areas such as long-term security, European Union energy provision.
Minister Şimşek drew attention to the fact that Turkey is located in an important geography in terms of traditional energy fields and green energy, “Turkey continues to be a key partner in energy supply security”, he assessed.
Customs Union Agreement should be expanded
“We want to do our part and we want to re-anchor to the EU integration process.” Şimşek said that he believed that Turkey’s EU harmonization journey would be extremely beneficial for both parties.
Şimşek added that he believes that the Customs Union Agreement between the EU and Turkey should be expanded to cover services and agricultural products in the near term, adding: “A few years ago, a study was conducted on the benefits of updating the Customs Union. It concluded that a new deal is of great benefit to the EU. We can meet again, starting with the fruit (near-term goals) on the lower branches of the tree.” he said.
“You can’t ignore Turkey”
Emphasizing that Turkey has an important role in global supply chains, Şimşek said, “When we look at the issue of diversification of global supply chains, it is clear that Turkey is one of the strongest candidates.”
Recalling that Turkey’s membership process with the EU has been going on since 1963, Şimşek said:
“If Europe wants to take a more favorable position, in global affairs, as European leaders talk about, you cannot ignore a country the size of Turkey. We believe that Turkey can be a value (for the EU) and that Europe can become a greater economic power.”
“I think it can help us to become a center. Turkey has a very strong history in Central Asia and I think we are a strong soft power. Now we have a very strong relationship in Africa.”
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