The European Green Deal is the European Union's growth strategy built on the goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, reshaping EU policy from energy and industry to agriculture and transport. It was announced by the European Commission on 11 December 2019. The European Climate Law made climate neutrality by 2050 and a cut in net greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030, compared with 1990, legally binding.
For Turkish exporters, its importance comes from the size of the EU market. According to Türkiye's Ministry of Trade, 42.8% of Türkiye's goods exports, about USD 116.8 billion, went to the EU in 2025. To adapt to this shift, Türkiye published its Green Deal Action Plan on 16 July 2021, with 9 main headings, 32 targets and 81 actions.
In short:
- The Green Deal is not a single law but an umbrella for rules on climate, energy, industry, agriculture, transport and finance (European Commission).
- Its impact is not limited to companies inside the EU; companies selling into the EU become part of their customers' compliance chain through product, material and emissions information.
- Türkiye's framework is the Ministry of Trade's Green Deal Action Plan.
What is the European Green Deal and what are its targets?
The European Commission describes the Green Deal as a strategy to turn the EU into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy. Its main targets are tied to two dates:
- 2030: under the European Climate Law (Regulation 2021/1119), the EU's binding 2030 target is a domestic reduction of net greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% compared with 1990 levels.
- 2050: Article 2 of the same law requires EU-wide greenhouse gas emissions and removals to be balanced by 2050 at the latest, that is, net zero.
The Commission's page lists the areas covered by the Green Deal as climate, energy, environment and oceans, agriculture, transport, industry, research and innovation, and finance and regional development. Türkiye's action plan likewise stresses that the EU designed the Green Deal not only as a climate policy but as an economic transformation programme.
The European Green Deal and Türkiye: why is it directly relevant?
The trade relationship between Türkiye and the EU makes the Green Deal's impact direct. According to the Ministry of Trade's Economic Outlook report for October 2026, Türkiye's exports to the EU were USD 108.5 billion in 2024 and USD 116.8 billion in 2025; the EU's share of total exports in 2025 was 42.8%. In the first ten months of 2026 the share was 41.8%. At country level, Germany was Türkiye's largest export market in 2025 with 8.1%.
The action plan explains this link through the Customs Union: with the EU shaping all its policies around the green transition, adaptation is described as necessary for Türkiye, which conducts nearly half of its trade with the EU, both to sustain integration and to protect competitiveness.
What does Türkiye's Green Deal Action Plan cover?
The plan, prepared under the coordination of the Ministry of Trade in consultation with public institutions and the private sector, was published on 16 July 2021; a Presidential Circular on the plan appeared in the Official Gazette the same day. Its 81 actions are grouped under 9 headings:
- Carbon border adjustments
- A green and circular economy
- Green finance
- Clean, affordable and secure energy supply
- Sustainable agriculture
- Sustainable smart transport
- Combating climate change
- Diplomacy
- European Green Deal information and awareness activities
The targets and activities in the plan are meant to be carried out with the public sector, private sector and other stakeholders under the European Green Deal Working Group. The carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) is the first heading; because it is a substantial topic in its own right, it is not covered in detail here. The Commission's Green Deal page states that the mechanism should be fully operational by 2026.
How are Turkish exporters affected?
The headings below are a framework showing how the policy areas covered by the Green Deal may reach the day-to-day work of a company selling into the EU; they are not a legal assessment that applies to every company:
- Product and material rules: under the circular economy agenda, the Commission is running separate rules for value chains such as packaging, batteries, textiles and end-of-life vehicles. For companies selling these product groups, preparing material, recycled-content and product information comes to the fore. For the digital sharing of product information, see our article on the digital product passport.
- Emissions information: buyers in the EU may ask suppliers for production-related energy and emissions data to meet their own reduction targets. The action plan also lists monitoring of industrial emissions and certification and reporting in line with EU methodology among its actions.
- Access to finance: the plan's green finance heading includes strengthening Türkiye's green finance ecosystem and preparing legislation to assess the sustainability of investments, taking the EU taxonomy into account. Companies seeking finance for green investments can expect to be asked for data in line with this framework.
- Circularity and waste: the plan's "green and circular economy" heading emphasises resource efficiency. For what this means at company level, see what is a circular economy.
Where should an exporting company start?
The questions below are not a sourced standard but a checklist for a first assessment:
- Which product groups do you sell into the EU? Group your products, for example packaging, batteries, textiles or energy-intensive goods, and identify which EU rules apply to each group.
- What are customers asking for? Collect supplier questionnaires and contract annexes from your major EU customers in one place and list recurring data requests.
- Where is the data? Clarify which system holds data such as energy use, material composition and waste quantities, and who is responsible for it.
- Who is tracking changes? Appoint someone to follow changes in EU legislation and announcements from Türkiye's Ministry of Trade.
Conclusion
The European Green Deal is a framework built on the EU's 2030 and 2050 climate targets that changes product, energy, finance and trade rules together. For Türkiye, which sends about 43% of its exports to the EU, it is not a foreign policy topic but a direct market condition. A practical start is to group the products sold into the EU, collect the data requests coming from customers and decide who owns that data inside the company.
"The European Green Deal and Its Impact on Businesses" is part of Orient Global's corporate training catalogue; details are on the sustainability page.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice; the current text of the relevant EU legislation prevails.
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