Turkey and the European Union signed a comprehensive agreement to begin official negotiations for the renewal of the Customs Union Agreement signed in 1995, which fell short of satisfying Turkey’s demands, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi said on Tuesday.

“We are proud to initiate a new phase which can be seen as a milestone in our relations with the EU Customs Union,” Zeybekçi said at a joint press conference with European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström in Brussels.

The customs union, which came into force in December 1995, imposes common external tariffs for all industrial and processed agricultural goods.

The first step of updating the Customs Union Agreement was taken in January 20-21, 2014, during the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Brussels, where he conveyed the issue to the EU authorities with a clear manner.

“As the Turkish Government, we clearly conveyed to the EU that the Customs Union Agreement will be unsustainable, if the agreement will not be updated or the demands of the Turkish government will not be satisfied. The negotiations have started since then.” Zeybekçi said earlier in Istanbul.

The Turkish Economy Minister stated both the EU and Turkish sides agreed on four items and outlined, “First, to enable Turkey to participate in the EU’s consultative and decision-making mechanisms. Second, to find permanent solutions to the problems suffered due to the compatibility of the EU’s Free Trade Agreements, or FTA, with third countries and enable Turkey to be automatically part of EU’s all FTA. Third, the removal of land route quotes, obstacles and tariffs that obstruct the free movement of the Turkish goods in the EU market. And fourth is to include the agriculture, the service sector and public procurement which were excluded in 1996.”

“The successful completion of the process will also enable our country to participate in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP,” he added.

Through the negotiation process, both sides also aimed to deepen trade relations in agricultural, public procurements and services sector.

EU Trade Commissioner Malmström said that since the current custom agreement did not include services, investments, public procurements and some agricultural products, it was time to change it to a more inclusive character.

Malmström mentioned the current trade relations between the EU and Turkey cover industrial goods and certain agricultural products based on very old instruments. “The world’s economy is becoming increasingly interrelated, that’s why it is high time to update the Customs Union Agreement,” she added.

She said they would start preparations, make impact analyses, hold consultations and apply to the EU Council to get authorization to conduct negotiations as soon as possible.

Turkey has been a candidate country to join the EU since 1999. According to the European Commission website, the EU is Turkey’s number one import and export partner ,while Turkey ranks seventh and fifth in the EU’s top import and export markets, respectively.

Turkey’s exports to the EU stood at $68.5 billion and its imports from the bloc at $88.7 billion in 2014.

Turkish officials have repeatedly criticized future free-trade agreements signed by the EU with other countries, such as the U.S., which would effectively open Turkey’s market to exports from such states, as Ankara was a signatory of the Customs Union Agreement.

But they would simultaneously effectively block Turkish exports from benefiting from tax advantages in the same states, should Ankara not be a party to the free-trade deals negotiated by the EU.