"We want Turkey to be European and democratic… Turkey should decide whether it wants to follow the European way… We hold very serious talks regarding the Turkish place within the cooperation of Turkey and the EU Customs Union. The stakes amount to about 65 billion euro. I think Turkey will accurately count it while choosing how to behave," Kotzias told reporters.
Ankara is seeking to renegotiate its 1995 customs union agreement with the bloc, in accordance with which Turkey must open its markets to third countries that are part of a free trade agreement with Brussels. In contrast, Turkish goods cannot be exported to third countries without duties, as Turkey is not an EU member.
In December 2016, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir said negotiations on updating Ankara’s customs union trade agreement with the European Union would be opened in 2017.
Brussels has been concerned about renewed attempts to reinstate the death penalty in Turkey, as well as by closures of media outlets, arrests of journalists and Kurdish opposition leaders that have shaken the country after a military faction made an unsuccessful bid to overthrow the Turkish president.
The relations between the European Union and Turkey further worsened after the cancellation of Turkish politicians' public appearances in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands by their respective regions’ authorities, ahead of Turkey's national referendum on constitutional reform. The referendum is slated to greatly expand the executive powers of Erdogan, who strongly criticized the European Union for banning pro-referendum rallies and compared respective European governments to Nazis.
