Who we are

About

Chambers both in Turkey and in the European Union (EU) have an important role to play in fostering economic cooperation and contributing to the advancement of Turkey’s EU accession process. The Turkey-EU Business Dialogue (TEBD) project is based on the long-term collaboration between the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambres) and the Union of Chambers and Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB – which is also a member of Eurochambres), based on their strategic priorities and their roles in representing and supporting the business communities both in the EU and in Turkey. The TEBD project is implemented by the Eurochambres in close cooperation with TOBB, which is the End Beneficiary Institution.

The TEBD project brings the Turkish Chambers of Commerce and Industry (and Commodity Exchanges), and their EU counterparts closer together by supporting and implementing a range of activities, providing the Chambers and Commodity Exchanges opportunities to exchange views and practices and to improve business dialogue. The TEBD project promotes the integration of the European Union and Turkish business communities and ensures greater awareness of business opportunities and challenges of Turkey’s potential future accession to the EU and the modernization of the Customs Union between Turkey and the EU.

Objectives

The Turkey-EU Business Dialogue aims to strengthen mutual knowledge and understanding between Turkish Chambers of Commerce and Industry (and Commodity Exchanges) and their counterparts in the European Union through dialogue by exchanging views and practices. The specific objectives of the TEBD project are:

Strengthening the capacity of Turkish Chambers and Exchanges to improve existing services and/or provide additional services to their members;
Increasing the participation of the business community in political life in Turkey, in particular in providing input to further develop the Customs Union between the EU and Turkey and to support the advancement of Turkey’s EU accession process;
Increasing opportunities for networking and exchanges of best practices between Turkish and EU Chambers;
Enhancing awareness throughout both business communities of the potential opportunities and challenges that could be presented by Turkey’s accession to the EU.

Activities

During the implementation of the Turkey-EU Business Dialogue, Chambers of Commerce and Industry (and Commodity Exchanges) from both Turkey and the European Union are engaging in partnerships, dialogues, capacity building, and much more. Between July 2018 and December 2021, over 100 activities and events are taking place in Turkey and across the EU. These activities are organised under two Components:

Component 1: Cooperation activities between Turkish and EU Chambers and Business Communities

TURKEY-EU POLICY DIALOGUE

High-Level Business Dialogues

SME Workshops

SME Surveys

CAPACITY BUILDING

Chamber Academies

Study Visits

Audits

Component 2: Support to the Turkey-EU Chambers Partnership Grant Scheme

In the framework of the TEBD project, the European Union is supporting 19 partnership projects involving Chambers in Turkey and those in the EU Member States. Each Chamber Partnership includes at least 1 Turkish Chamber and 1 EU Chamber. The selected partnerships launched their activities in April 2019, with a duration of up to 15 months. Each partnership is being supported by the EU under its Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA-II) with a grant of up to €150,000. The Chamber Partnerships are addressing a wide range of topics and sectors, including: agricultural production, clustering, coaching for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), cooperation in the automotive sector, digitalisation, energy efficiency, innovation, trade integration and women’s entrepreneurship.

In order to provide support to the evaluation and selection process, as well as to the Chamber Partnerships during the implementation of their respective activities, the following tasks are being undertaken by the TEBD project team.