IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu made a statement concerning the visit by European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Turkey on 6 April 2021. Stating that relations with the EU have been at a freezing point for a long time, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu emphasized that the visit indicates an important revival in the relations. Chairman Zeytinoğlu stated that the positive agenda, first proposed at the EU Summit in October 2020, has begun to materialize and should be implemented as soon as possible without further delay. Chairman Zeytinoğlu stated the following:

"The visit by the Presidents of the European Council and European Commission is of great importance as the first high level and face to face contact in a long time. It also points to an important stage in the realization of the positive political agenda which the EU first proposed in October 2020. Relations had been in the deep freeze for some time, and tension dominated particularly the Eastern Mediterranean and the foreign policy agenda. Moderation here, shone a beam of light for the revitalisation of Turkey-EU relations. The positive agenda proposed by the EU does not include a return to the accession negotiations, however it is essential for restoring and putting the relations back on track for future re-operationalisation of the full EU membership strategy which is the ideal strategy for Turkey. The positive agenda includes cooperation on refugees, the resumption of high level dialogues and the enhancement of people-to-people contacts, as well as economic cooperation and modernisation of the Customs Union.”

Emphasizing that the business community has expectations regarding the modernisation of the Customs Union which is part of the positive agenda proposed by the EU for restoring and reviving relations with Turkey, Chairman Zeytinoğlu indicated that they expected the process to be launched immediately:

“Here, the expectation of the business community is for the Customs Union modernisation process to be launched as soon as possible. The framework for the modernisation of the Customs Union has already been established through the report prepared by the World Bank in 2016. Therefore, it is beneficial to start this process immediately and without further delay. Otherwise, in addition to the Cyprus problem, the upcoming elections in the two leading EU countries; Germany and France in September 2021 and 2022, respectively, may cause a stalemate in the Council. Modernisation of the Customs Union is a win-win situation for both sides. Moreover, the modernisation of the Customs Union will foster dialogue and cooperation on the Green Deal and digitalisation which are the EU’s two main priorities and hold considerable significance for Turkey’s economy. It is extremely important for both Turkey and the EU to seize this opportunity. As for the other important issue that is visa liberalisation, the fulfilment of the six remaining benchmarks by Turkey will enable the re-launch of the EU reform process, as a preliminary step. Steps could be taken for revitalising the process by returning to the EU political and economic reforms and implementing the measures envisaged in the recently announced Human Rights Action Plan and Economic Reform Package. In turn, in order to restore its relationship with Turkey, which is of strategic importance for security and stability in Europe, and turn it into a mutually beneficial relationship, the EU should not refrain from taking concrete steps such as giving a negotiating mandate to the Commission for the modernisation of the Customs Union immediately.”