Erdoğan's EU Message to Belgium's Queen Mathilde: 'Customs Union Must Be Updated, Türkiye Should Join EU Defence Initiatives' (Vahdettin Palace)
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Belgium's Queen Mathilde, who is visiting Türkiye on an "Economic Mission", at the Vahdettin Palace. The reception, closed to the press, was also attended by First Lady Emine Erdoğan. According to the statement issued by the Directorate of Communications regarding the meeting, Türkiye-Belgium bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues were discussed. Erdoğan noted that Türkiye and Belgium have cooperation potential across trade, defence industry, energy and agriculture, and stressed that they will continue to take steps to enhance relations. Stating that recent developments in the region have once again demonstrated the geopolitical importance of Türkiye-European Union (EU) relations, Erdoğan emphasised that among the areas requiring urgent progress until full membership, updating the Customs Union under new conditions ranks first.
Erdoğan underlined that Türkiye's participation in the EU's defence initiatives is a matter of shared interest. He added his hope that Belgium's Queen would achieve concrete results in her contacts with the Turkish business community. Pointing to Türkiye's prominent diplomatic initiatives on the international stage, Erdoğan recalled that Türkiye will host the NATO Leaders' Summit on 7-8 July in Ankara and COP31 from 9 to 20 November this year. Stating that one of the important areas of cooperation with Belgium is the green energy transition, Erdoğan noted that Türkiye's installed renewable energy capacity is among the leading countries in Europe. The meeting gave formal diplomatic expression to Türkiye's long-standing request for renewed momentum on modernising the existing 1995 Customs Union with the EU; despite disagreements over the past 24 months on transport quotas, customs formalities and the Land Transport Agreement, the EU side's discussion of an expanded CU upgrade covering agriculture, services and public procurement has been progressively returning to the Commission's agenda.
From a supply chain perspective, this statement is critical along four axes. First, expanding the Customs Union update to include agriculture, services and public procurement would mean — for the EUR 200+ billion annual trade volume Türkiye conducts with the EU — reducing non-tariff barriers (NTBs), easing rules of origin, and deepening diagonal cumulation in Türkiye's favour across the Asia-Europe-Africa trilateral; the most direct beneficiaries are automotive, white goods, textiles and machinery exporters. Second, the demand for Türkiye's participation in EU defence initiatives — European Defence Fund (EDF), Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the ReArm Europe Plan/SAFE financing instrument — channels the supplier integration of Türkiye's primes (BAYKAR, ASELSAN, TUSAŞ, ROKETSAN) into the EU defence industrial base through the diplomatic channel of an EU member state that hosts NATO HQ; third-country supplier status in SAFE's EUR 150 billion EU defence procurement envelope could be the concrete output of this argument. Third, hosting COP31 in Antalya from 9-20 November — combined with Türkiye's leading position in Europe in installed renewable capacity — points to opportunities for bilateral agreements with Belgium in green hydrogen, offshore wind, RES project financing ahead of the full implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2026; Belgium, with its Ostend Port offshore-wind hub and capacity as the Commission's host capital in Brussels, serves as a strategic gateway for green-capital flows into Türkiye. Fourth, the 7-8 July NATO Ankara Summit will be a platform on which Türkiye showcases its diplomatic leadership on Black Sea security, F-35 re-admission, Patriot/Eurosam SAMP/T procurement, and the Steadfast Defender 2027 plan as an eastern-flank ally — given Belgium's influence in NATO HQ decisions, pre-summit bilateral consultations are critical. The triple package of Customs Union update + EU defence integration + green energy points to a pragmatic path of progress through sectoral cooperation, in a juncture where Türkiye's full EU accession negotiations have been frozen since 2018.
Key Takeaways:
1. President Erdoğan received Belgium's Queen Mathilde, visiting Türkiye on an Economic Mission, at the Vahdettin Palace.
2. Erdoğan emphasised that, among the areas requiring urgent progress until full EU membership, updating the Customs Union under new conditions ranks first.
3. Türkiye's participation in the EU's defence initiatives was defined as a shared interest; the two countries' cooperation potential was articulated across trade, defence, energy and agriculture.
4. Erdoğan recalled Türkiye's hosting of the 7-8 July NATO Leaders' Summit in Ankara and COP31 on 9-20 November.
5. The green energy transition was identified as a flagship area of cooperation with Belgium; Türkiye's installed renewable capacity was highlighted as among Europe's leading positions.
6. The meeting was closed to the press; First Lady Emine Erdoğan also accompanied the President at the reception.
7. Supply chain impact: CU update → automotive/white goods/textiles/machinery exports + EU defence initiatives (EDF/PESCO/SAFE) → third-country supplier status for BAYKAR/ASELSAN/TUSAŞ + COP31 + pre-CBAM 2026 green hydrogen/offshore wind bilateral opportunities with Belgium + pre-NATO Ankara Summit bilateral diplomatic momentum.
