Mr. President, Esteemed Colleagues,

The adoption of this updated Enforcement Regulation is truly a leap forward for the European Union.

We are now in a position to defend the trade interests and rights of the European Union even in cases where our partners obstruct the dispute settlement mechanism within the WTO or in our bilateral trade agreements.
In addition, the scope of possible countermeasures is expanded to services, a standing request of the EPP as well as of the majority of our Parliament.
In spite of this, the European Commission needs to be faster and bolder about enforcing its rights in international trade rules.

Especially when it comes to trade partners that have a questionable track record in upholding international rules, such as Turkey, which has for years unilaterally imposed non-compliant tariffs and equivalent measures, in breach of the provisions laid out in our Bilateral Preferential Trade Framework.

Meanwhile, Turkey continues to act provocatively in the Eastern Mediterranean and to violate the sovereign rights of Greece and Cyprus.
Therefore, I ask you: Can the European Union really trust a partner that doesn’t respect international law?

Despite Turkey’s recent “charm offensive” in Europe, I still have serious doubts about its intentions.

Both the Council and our Parliament have called upon Turkey to comply with international law.

With today’s revision of the Enforcement Regulation, we are providing the European Commission with another tool to enforce Turkey’s compliance with international law.