Turkey Deserves a Better EU Trade Deal

With European roots reaching back to the mid-19th century, Turkey clearly sees its future in Europe. But ever since the European Union and Turkey signed an association agreement in 1963, progress has come at a snail’s pace. Now even the linchpin of that relationship -- the customs union that took effect in 1996 -- is no longer fit for purpose.

The agreement helped spur Turkish industry to new heights, but today it has come to symbolize an impaired relationship. The union is failing to accommodate trade volume that has skyrocketed to 145 billion euros from 28 billion euros when the agreement was signed. (Turkey’s gross domestic product has grown by four times in that period, too.) Keep in mind that the trade numbers are only one aspect of the full economic partnership: The EU’s foreign direct investment in Turkey is close to 135 billion euros, and bilateral trade in services was 27 billion euros in 2014 alone.