Roundtable Policy Discussion – Setting the EU-Turkey economic agenda: customs union reform

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) held a European Parliamentary Roundtable Policy Discussion on the topic of Customs Union reform with Turkish economic experts and academics, including private sector groups and business associations on the 25th of January 2017. The first in a series of ENC roundtables on Turkey and trade, the parliament event aimed at opening the floor to questions from the private sector and informing parliamentarians and commission officials about the concerns from each side. In turn, this is aimed at pre-empting unforeseen obstacles throughout the negotiation phase and to reinforce inter-institutional coordination and transparency between the private and public sectors when dealing with customs union reform between Turkey and the EU. The roundtable was supported by the Turkish private sector; represented by the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), in cooperation with the European Entrepreneurs (CEA-PME).