Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and India has reopened an old wound in Turkey–EU relations, once again exposing the long-standing impasse over trade integration with Ankara.
The European Union’s push to conclude free trade agreements (FTAs) is reshaping the economic landscape around its periphery. Chief among these is the long-negotiated EU–Mercosur Trade Agreement, alongside accelerating talks with India. While these agreements are formally bilateral between the EU and third parties, their implications extend well beyond signatories. For Turkey, which is bound to the EU through a customs union covering industrial goods, these deals carry direct consequences—despite Ankara not being a negotiating party.