Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegation. My question is about trade relations between Turkey and the European Union overall. The advantage of trade relations is that dealing in goods between countries can be developed into wider relationships between people. What is the current position as regards access to the European Union market? The EU has trade agreements with China from which we are getting a huge volume of products. What progress has been made in Turkey accessing the EU market?

Turkey is benefiting from EU tourists travelling to the country for holidays and very good facilities are provided. What progress is expected in EU goods coming into Turkey in the next five to ten years? Regardless of when EU membership is dealt with, the trade between Turkey and the EU should be increased in the meantime.