Home breadcru News breadcru Policy breadcru Turkish officials allege EU didn't deliver on visa-free travel promise

Turkish officials allege EU didn't deliver on visa-free travel promise

28 Oct '22
1 min read
Pic: Shutterstock
Pic: Shutterstock

Turkish officials have alleged that the European Union (EU) did not deliver on its promise to offer visa-free travel under a 2016 migration pact. In the last few months, Turkish public and businesspeople have said visa procedures for Europe take months, involve extensive paperwork and are rejected far too often, a recent bilateral business meeting in Istanbul was told.

The volume of bilateral trade has increased almost six-fold during the period of the Customs Union, and it is expected to reach $200 billion by the end of this year, Turkish trade minister Mehmet Mus told the meeting.

The business dialogue was organised by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkiye (TOBB) and the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambres), Turkish media outlets reported.

The last Turkiye-EU high-level economic dialogue was held in February 2019.

The annual trade in goods between both sides recently hit €132 billion ($123.3 billion), Eurochambres vice president Rifat Hisarciklioglu said, adding that Turkiye's exports to the EU are valued at around €63 billion.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)

Get Free Weekly Market Insights Newsletter

Receive daily prices and market insights straight to your inbox. Subscribe to AlchemPro Weekly!