EU and Türkiye hold third high-level dialogue
Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency Maroš Šefčovič and the Minister of Trade of Türkiye Ömer Bolat held the 3rd EU-Türkiye High-Level Dialogue on Trade in Brussels yesterday.
The EU and Türkiye are major trade partners with bilateral trade flows reaching EUR 217.6 billion in 2025. Türkiye – the EU’s 5th largest trade partner – is a candidate country and a key partner for the EU in many areas of mutual interest.
The high-level meeting provided an opportunity to review progress in bilateral trade relations, including key market access and customs issues; as well as discussing areas for enhanced cooperation in the wider EU-Türkiye economic partnership. The meeting was preceded by a Business Roundtable with stakeholders from both sides.
In the area of customs cooperation, the two sides discussed progress on the EU customs reform, in particular on e-commerce as well as other initiatives that will improve cooperation under the EU-Türkiye Customs Union, such as agreement on mutual recognition of authorised economic operators. The two sides also discussed Türkiye’s alignment with relevant EU legislation to ensure smooth circulation of goods across the Customs Union.
The dialogue also took stock of progress in reducing trade barriers, and featured an important announcement on the removal of the barrier on import controls under the TAREKS system (a risk-based foreign trade system for importers into Türkiye). This outcome represents a concrete step to facilitate trade, responding to longstanding concerns raised by economic operators.
The meeting also took stock of cooperation on preventing the circumvention of EU sanctions.
