The EU and Turkey held their latest High-Level Economic Dialogue in İstanbul on 2 July, covering economic policy, investment and cooperation with international lenders.
The meeting was co-chaired by Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner responsible for economy and productivity, and Turkey’s Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, the European Commission announced on Thursday.
Turkey told the EU it has officially submitted a letter of intent to the European Payments Council to express interest in joining the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
SEPA is a framework that allows participating countries to make euro payments across borders under common rules.
Turkey’s potential participation in SEPA would enable faster, more secure and more cost-effective cross-border payments and could facilitate trade and investment between Turkey and the EU.
The two sides also reviewed recent economic policy developments and the outlook in the EU and Turkey, including measures discussed by Turkey on price stability, financial stability and productivity, and by the EU on competitiveness.
Business and investment focus
The dialogue included participation from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), new Commission details show.
The parties welcomed what it described as the EIB’s recent re-engagement in clean energy and energy efficiency projects in Turkey supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and exporters.
They also highlighted the EBRD’s €2.7 billion of investments made in 2025 and referred to the CEB’s work investing in social infrastructure.
A linked EU-Turkey High-Level Business Dialogue brought together business representatives from both sides, as well as international financial institutions and national development banks, to discuss obstacles to doing business and areas for potential engagement.
The EU and Turkey agreed to meet again next year in Brussels.
