January 6, 2021
ISTANBUL/ANKARA
The landmark free trade agreement signed between Turkey and the UK has shown that the European Union Customs Union falls behind on many fronts, a top Turkish official said Wednesday.
The deal between Ankara and London signed last week could be a model for updating the customs union, said Nail Olpak, the head of Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board, at a virtual meeting.
Despite Brexit, UK is the biggest trade partner of Turkey, he recalled.
Touching on Turkey and EU relations, he said political issues affect business people and membership negotiation had practically come to a halt.