Turkey’s bilateral relations with the European countries are developing on a parallel course in line with Turkey’s strategic EU membership goal, but independent of the political strains that accompany this process. At the same time, economic and commercial ties with Europe are strengthening as well. More than half of Turkey’s foreign trade is with European countries. The inflow of foreign capital from European countries is increasing day by day, while private sectors run joint projects and millions of European tourists visit Turkey every year.

The European Countries is clearly the biggest trade partner of Turkey. In 2011, Turkey’s exports to European countries accounts for 56% of total exports and 53% of total imports of Turkey. Despite the  economic crises in Europe, In 2011, Turkey’s export to European Countries amounts merely  63 billion dollar and the imports amounted 92  billion dollar.

On the other hand, the close relations between Turkey and European Countries also exist in the bilateral investments. A win-win strategy could be seen in both Turkey’s investment to European countries and the investments originating from European Countries. Thus, European countries constituted %72,9 share of Turkey’s total investments. Similarly, the foreign investments originating from European Countries has constituted the 73,4% of total foreign direct investments in Turkey.