EURODIALOGUE
Journal of International Relations, European, Economic and Social Studies
Turkey and the EU are important trade partners: in 2010, Turkey was the seventh biggest external EU trade partner. With an export volume of 61.19 billion EUR, 4.5% of its overall external trade went to Turkey while imports from Turkey worth 42.1 billion EUR accounted for 2.8% of overall imports. From the Turkish perspective, the EU is of even bigger importance since it is by far its biggest trade partner. In 2010, the overall trade amounted to 94.39 billion EUR, equaling 42% of its overall foreign trade. As regards export, with a volume of 39.79 billion EUR, the share is even higher at 46.3%.13 Machinery accounts for the biggest share of EU imports from Turkey (38%). Further, 80% of foreign direct investment in Turkey originates from the EU.
2. The future EU budget and the role of Turkey In order to grasp the impact of the proposals for the future budget on EUTurkey relations, it is necessary to have some general information about the European budget and its current support of Turkey as well as the context in which it is negotiated. Therefore, the following section will give an overview of the architecture of the EU budget, that is, its spending priorities, its financing, and its budgetary procedure. The next section will talk about EU budget assistance to Turkey. Then, the context of the negotiations on the new Multiannual Financial Framework will be elaborated upon. This section includes a brief summary of the position of the European Parliament with regard to the political priorities of the next MFF. In the following, the Commission proposal on the budget for Europe 2020 will be analyzed with a focus on instruments of interest for Turkey. Finally, presuming that Turkey joins the EU after 2020, implications will be derived from policy trends for both Turkey and the EU budget. 2.1 The architecture of the EU budget The EU budget amounts to barely more than 1% of the gross national income (GNI) of the EU, making it very small compared to its national counterparts. An investment budget, it still contributes considerably to the achievement of agreed-upon common policy targets by pooling resources, acting as a catalyst for investment, and offering economies of scale as well as spill-over effects. 13. Figures extracted from IMF (DoTS) cited in DG ECFIN, 08 June 2011.
Turkey on the European doorstep
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