Progress in Cyprus talks may give Turkey access to ‘Made in EU’ scheme

Turkey may be allowed access to the European Union’s planned “Made in EU” scheme should progress be achieved in talks to resolved the Cyprus problem, the Cyprus Mail understands. Sources close to the matter told the newspaper that Ankara has expressed an interest in joining the scheme, with other non-EU member states, including the United Kingdom, having done the same in recent weeks. In response, it is understood that the European Commission has made reference to the European Council conclusions of June 2021, in which the leaders of the EU’s 27 member states declared that they are prepared to engage with Turkey in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner” to enhance cooperation in “areas of common interest”. Additionally, the commission made reference to the Council conclusions of June 2024, which stated that “the European Union attaches particular importance to resumption of and progress in the Cyprus settlement talks in further enhancing EU-Turkey cooperation”. Given the parameters outlined by those two sets of European Council conclusions, the EU said that it is prepared to discuss allowing Turkey to access the scheme should talks to solve the Cyprus problem progress. However, the sources said that on this front, particular stress was given to the point of any change being “reversible”, so as to guard against a potential collapse of Cyprus talks. The matter of proportionality was also raised, with the sources suggesting that Turkey could be incorporated into parts of the “Made in EU” scheme as talks progress. UK prepared to pay €540m for ‘Made in EU’ access The “Made in EU” scheme stems from the EU’s planned industrial accelerator act, which was proposed by the European Commission in March. Part of the proposal includes a stipulation for “Made in EU” and low-carbon preferences in public procurement and public support initiatives taken by member states across the bloc, and by the EU itself. As such, were the proposal to be passed into law, businesses based outside the EU could lose access to public procurement projects inside the bloc, and given this to be the case, countries on Europe’s political and geographical periphery, such as the UK and Turkey, have been seeking amendments to ensure that their businesses are treated as internal for the purpose of the act. British newspaper the Guardian reported that the UK is prepared to allow students from EU countries to pay reduced tuition fees at its universities in exchange for access to the “Made in EU” scheme and reported that those fee discounts could cost the UK taxpayer as much as €540 million, such being the value of the “Made in EU” scheme to the country. Turkey ‘an indispensable part of Europe’s supply chains’ Meanwhile, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said in September that the EU should “take Turkey and our production integration within the customs union into account”. “From automotive and machinery to white goods, defence and aviation, our companies are an indispensable part of Europe’s supply chains,” he said. Pursuant to the European Commission’s proposal, the bill has been making its way through European Parliament committees, with it currently expected that the parliament will vote to reach a common position to negotiate the bill with the commission in the middle of next month.