IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas participated in the Turkey Chemical Industry Council held on 12-13 March 2021 and delivered a speech on the modernisation of the Turkey-EU Customs Union in the session on Customs Union modernisation and the impact of trade agreements on the chemical industry. The other speakers of the session were Deputy Minister of Trade Gonca Yılmaz Batur and Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Turkey-UK Business Council Chairman Osman Okyay.

In her speech, IKV Secretary General Nas stated that despite the work carried out in 2016, it has not been possible to launch the formal negotiations aimed at the modernisation of the Customs Union due to political obstacles in the EU Council. Assoc. Prof. Nas indicated that modernisation of the Customs Union has become even more important within the framework of post-pandemic normalisation and the quest to create a resilient economy as well as under the themes of digitalisation, circular economy and the fight against climate change embodied in the European Green Deal. Assoc. Prof. Nas stated that there was hope that Turkey’s reform efforts would resonate positively among EU decision-makers and that the reforms were expected to be translated into practice. Pointing out to the upcoming European Council meeting, IKV Secretary General Nas stressed that a decision for the modernisation of the Customs Union within the framework of the proposed Turkey-EU positive agenda would be of crucial importance for Turkey-EU trade and economic relations.