European Union-Turkey Customs Union
Encyclopedia
On 31 December 1995 the customs union
European Union Customs Union
The European Union Customs Union is a customs union which consists of all the Member States of the European Union and a number of surrounding countries....

 between Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 came into effect.http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/bilateral/countries/turkey/index_en.htm Goods can travel between the two entities without any customs restrictions. The Customs Union does not cover essential economic areas, such as agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, to which bilateral trade concessions apply, services or public procurement
Procurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...

. The EU-Turkey Customs Union is one of the steps towards full Turkish membership of the European Union itself.

By the Association Council Decision of 6 March 1995, the Customs Union came into force on 31 December 1995. In 1996 a free trade area was established between Turkey and the European Union for products covered by the European Coal and Steel Community. Decision 1/98 of the Association Council covers trade in agricultural products.

In addition to providing for a common external tariff
Common external tariff
When a group of countries form a customs union they must introduce a common external tariff. The same customs duties, import quotas, preferences or other non-tariff barriers to trade apply to all goods entering the area, regardless of which country within the area they are entering...

 for the products covered, the Customs Union foresees that Turkey is to align to the acquis communautaire in several essential internal market areas, notably with regard to industrial standards.

Full European Union membership

Turkey has been an associate member of the European Community (EC) since 1964, following the signing in 1963 of the Ankara Agreement (EEC-Turkey Association Agreement (1963)) with the EEC. Turkey applied for full membership on 14 April 1987.

The decision to consider Turkey's application was deferred until 1993, because the European Community was in the process of becoming the even (politically and economically) tighter European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. The fall of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...

 delayed the decision on Turkish membership even more. During those years the European Community had also become reluctant to consider Turkey's application.

At the Helsinki summit in December 1999 Turkey was given the status of a candidate country. At the end of 2004, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

 has issued a report with positive recommendations to the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...

, indicating the degree of compliance by Turkey of the Copenhagen political criteria. On this basis, the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...

 has decided to start accession negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005.

Euro-Mediterranean free trade area

Finally, Turkey is also member of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and as such should conclude free trade agreements with all other Mediterranean partners, with a view to the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
The European Union-Mediterranean Free Trade Area , also called the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area or Euromed FTA, is based on the Barcelona Process and European Neighbourhood Policy...

 in 2010

See also

  • European Union Customs Union
    European Union Customs Union
    The European Union Customs Union is a customs union which consists of all the Member States of the European Union and a number of surrounding countries....




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