BRUSSELS - Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen held a press conference in Brussels on Thursday after he met with the European commissioners Peter Mandelson (trade) and Olli Rehn (enlargement).
Tuzmen said the unfairnesses that Turkey encountered during the process of its accession to the EU must be ended.
The trade volume between Turkey and EU amounted to 100 billion euro and this figure was on the rise, but Turkey has faced some injustices regarding free trade agreement (FTA), he told reporters.
Turkey had some problems regarding trade with the EU because it was not included in the FTA decision-making mechanism of the EU and was not informed about the agreements that were signed, Tuzmen also said.
"Countries which signed FTA with EU can export goods to Turkey free of duty but Turkey has to pay high taxes for products it exported to these countries. Turkish businessmen faced visa problems," he said.
Tuzmen said the commissioners and himself also discussed a project on organizing a comprehensive meeting in Turkey regarding the Mideast .
(EÖ-ULG)