Three decades after the EU-Türkiye Customs Union entered into force, it remains the backbone of one of Europe’s most significant economic relationships, integrating Turkish industry into European value chains and anchoring daily trade in rules, standards and regulatory convergence. Yet the 2026 trade environment is very different from 1995: carbon-related rules, digital trade, customs simplification, e-commerce, services-linked manufacturing and third-country trade agreements are reshaping what companies need from the framework. This panel will move beyond slogans and ask where we stand, what works, and what can be improved in practical terms. Panelists will assess implementation bottlenecks, technical barriers, dispute settlement, regulatory consultation, customs cooperation, SME participation and the ability of both sides to anticipate regulatory changes before they become commercial frictions. The objective is a more predictable, transparent and competitive trade corridor between Türkiye and the EU.

Europe’s new industrial agenda is shifting the centre of gravity from market access alone to resilience, carbon performance, public procurement and strategic production capacity. The Industrial Accelerator Act and wider Clean Industrial Deal raise a central question for EU-Türkiye business: should industrial policy be understood as strictly ‘Made in Europe’, or can it become ‘Made with Europe’ through trusted, rules-based, low-carbon value chains? For Türkiye, a major manufacturing partner in automotive, machinery, appliances, textiles, steel, aluminium and clean technologies, this distinction will shape investment, sourcing and co-production. This session will explore how EU content requirements, low-carbon product criteria, faster permitting and public support schemes can be designed without weakening supply chains that already link Türkiye and the EU. Speakers will discuss how to combine industrial sovereignty with openness, avoid assembly-only models, and create value through technology, skills, innovation, circularity and high-quality jobs.

Energy security has become a central test of economic resilience and geopolitical preparedness. Recent disruptions, from Russia’s weaponisation of energy supplies to tensions affecting key maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, have shown how quickly external shocks can affect prices, supply chains and industrial competitiveness.

For the EU and Türkiye, the priority is not only crisis response, but building a more diversified, integrated and future-proof energy partnership. Türkiye’s position between Europe, the Caucasus, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia makes it a strategic connector between producers, transit routes and consumer markets. At the same time, both partners share the need to reduce vulnerabilities while accelerating cleaner, more flexible and affordable energy systems.

This panel will explore how EU-Türkiye cooperation can strengthen supply security, expand energy diversification, improve gas and electricity interconnections, and support investment in renewables, storage, hydrogen, grid resilience and industrial decarbonisation. By bringing together policymakers, energy companies and infrastructure actors, the session will examine how energy cooperation can become a driver of competitiveness, sustainability and shared economic security.

This session will approach artificial intelligence as both a governance challenge and a competitiveness opportunity. By 2026, the EU AI Act is moving from political agreement to operational reality, while companies are asking how risk-based rules, standards, sandboxes and compliance tools can support innovation rather than fragment it. Türkiye’s association with the Digital Europe Programme creates a concrete platform for cooperation in artificial intelligence, advanced digital skills, cybersecurity, data spaces and Digital Innovation Hubs. The panel will explore how EU and Turkish actors can collaborate on trustworthy AI adoption in manufacturing, energy, logistics, finance, health, public administration and SMEs, while aligning with principles of transparency, human oversight, cybersecurity, accountability and fundamental rights. Beyond regulation, the discussion will focus on scale: access to data, compute, talent, testing facilities, cross-border pilots and public-private partnerships. The aim is to identify a pragmatic AI cooperation agenda that protects citizens, gives companies legal clarity and helps both sides remain competitive in a fast-moving global technology race.