ANKARA: European Union Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkır said Turkey would face an annual loss of roughly $5 billion on not participating in Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade agreement between the EU and the US.
Addressing an audience at the Washington-based think tank the German Marshall Fund on Thursday, Bozkır said negotiations between the EU and the US are still continuing and that the final agreement should include members of the European Union Customs Union (EUCU). Turkey — a candidate country for full EU membership — has had a customs agreement with the EU since 1995.
Bozkır also said that if Turkey is excluded, the country will need to take measures to protect itself economically.
More than 200 representatives from the US and the EU were in Brussels this past week for the eighth round of TTIP negotiations. Turkey is not part of the negotiations as it is not an EU member.
Touching on the issue of the ethnically divided island of Cyprus, long a thorn in the side of Turkey’s EU membership bid, Bozkır lamented the current stalemate. “Turkey is ready to do what is necessary to reach a comprehensive solution,” he said. The peace talks between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) in the north of the island and Greek Cyprus in the south was halted by Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades last year after Turkey sent a natural gas research vessel near the coast of southern Cyprus last October.
Bozkır has been paying an official visit to Washington, D.C., this week, talking with US officials regarding TTIP negotiations, among other issues. On Thursday the EU minister attended the National Prayer Breakfast, an event held annually in Washington and hosted by the US Congress, with the attendance of the US president. The traditional breakfast, held on the first Thursday of February each year with guests from over 100 countries, is designed to be a forum for people from a variety of political, social and business areas to gather and network.
On Wednesday Bozkır met with Congressmen Ed Whitfield and Steve Cohen, the co-chairmen of the Congressional Caucus on US-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans.
Speaking with Turkish citizens and academics at the Turkish Embassy on Wednesday, Bozkır also strongly emphasized that EU membership is Turkey’s strategic goal. “The EU is in need of Turkey more than ever. And Turkey’s need for the EU is also increasing every day,” the minister said.
Bozkır added that his visit is aimed at preventing any communication problems and eliminating negative opinions about Turkey that have recently come to the fore in the US.
