EU chief negotiator pledges to keep well-informed on negotiations

Garcia Bercero, the European Commission’s chief negotiator at the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), said yesterday that Turkey’s firm belief in European backup in anticipation of the massive trade and investment agreement between the bloc and the United States had only a limited reality. "At the end of the day, what we can do is that we can talk to countries, we can explain to them why in light of the customs union it would certainly be appropriate for those negations to be conducted, but that’s the limit of what we can do," Bercero said during a panel organized by the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD). "My strong recommendation would be for Turkey to start a working group with the US as quickly as possible, to prepare well for the negotiations, and throughout this process we would be keeping Turkey well-informed on how the negotiations are proceeding," Bercero added.