Fatih Şener, UND Vice Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors, ''I Imagine A Gate, Both Sides Are Made The Same With One Project"

“TURKEY NEEDS TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH THE EU AND PROJECT IT AHEAD”

“WE ALSO HAVE THE WORLD'S MOST VEHICLE - PASSING GATES”

Şener emphasized that with the application made to the EU's Global Gateway project, a new gate should be built to model El Paso, located on the Mexico-American border. Noting that half of Turkey's exports come from Kapıkule, Şener said that; “The target should be 10 minutes of waiting at our EU border. Let's relax the door, trade will increase.”

Making evaluations about the intensity experienced in Kapıkule, UND Vice Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors, Fatih Şener, states that when they went to Kapıkule two years ago, they saw that Bulgaria divided its platforms into different sections in two or three ways, and that there was no such distinction on the Turkish side. Emphasizing that there is no mutually appropriate design and that it needs to work in sync in order to be successful, Şener said that; “We renewed and developed the gate 20 years ago, but the Bulgarian side did nothing. Whatever we do, it won't happen unless that party does it. Therefore, over time, a form emerges that diverges from each other in terms of management logic and design. This slows down the speed and it is the slow side that determines the speed at the door. For example, passage at the gate increased by 50 percent, but its capacity was already below the need. Transports also increased by 20 percent, maybe 20 percent more, and that's why the place has become very chaotic.”

“This Is Not The Turkey-Bulgaria Gate, It Is The Turkey-EU Gate”

Stating that the passage at the gate increased but the capacity was below the need, Şener underlined that they are trying to improve Kapıkule and continued his words as follows: "Looking at Kapıkule and the Bulgarian side, our gate is 3-4 times the size of the Bulgarian side. However, in 2004, if I am not mistaken, the Ministry took the customs managers and went to visit the US-Mexico gates. There, in El Paso, they work half a day in a very narrow area and 3 thousand vehicles pass daily. On the other hand, 600 vehicles pass through us in half a day, even in our most successful state. 5 times our number of vehicles come out of the said door. But the land of the customs is one-fifth of our door. We understand that as the area of ??the door expands, its speed slows down. As it expands, there are laundry, restaurant, free-shop and shopping places. We increased the number of passes from 800 to approximately 1,200 in Kapıkule, and from 400 to 500 in Hamzabey. This is not solved with 200-300 increments here. There are 3 gates; Sarp, Türkgözü and Çıldır-Aktaş Gate on the border between Turkey and Georgia. So why are there two gates between Turkey and Bulgaria that trucks can pass through? Exports from Turkey to Georgia are not 1% of total exports, while exports to Bulgaria and beyond are 50% of total exports. Why do we persist on Kapıkule? Of course, when we were going to express this idea from time to time, it was said that 'Bulgarians do not have money for this, they have no employment.' But when we look at it, we cannot expect the Bulgarians to enjoy themselves. The Bulgarians do not need this door, we do. This gate is not the Turkey-Bulgaria Gate, it is the Turkey-EU gate, and the EU says, "We are one state."

“Our Driver Is The Victim But The European Driver Is The Victim, Too.”

Emphasizing that almost half of the goods coming from Turkey are European companies located in Turkey and that the Europeans get hurt if this product is delayed or delayed, Şener states that the trucks coming from Europe are waiting for the door in the same way. Şener continued his words as follows: “We always say that Turkey's exports are on the way, whereas Europe's exports are also on the way. Products produced in Europe are also damaged while waiting on the road when they arrive in Turkey. In addition, our driver is a victim, but the European driver is the victim, too. There is a queue that goes 30 kilometers under inhumane conditions and advances every 10 meters with stop and go. We said, 'Let's make a new gate,' and 3 days later, the European Commission said, 'We are announcing a project called Global Gateway, which means a global gateway.' There is a subject called the improvement of the customs gates with the partner countries of the European Union. We say, 'Come and build this gate'. I imagine a gate, both sides are made the same with a single project. This would be an exemplary gate in the world. If it's done for this, let's go to El Paso; if 3,000 vehicles pass here in half a day, let's have the world's most vehicle-passed gate.”

"Let's Look at the Mexican-American Border, Let's Make the Most Beautiful Gate"

Expressing that 3 thousand vehicles passed in half a day in El Paso, which he stated can be taken as an example in the construction of the new border gate, Şener emphasized that this was also achieved with advanced technology. Şener continued his speech as follows: “Even buses enter x-rays. They designed the area like an x-ray lab. Let's go look at the Mexican-American border on the spot with the authorities, and let's make the most beautiful gate. We have to understand that China bought wide-body aircraft and ports around the world 10 years ago before launching its export move. It builds railroads, constantly investing in logistics. What you call an export becomes an export as soon as it leaves the border. We also have export gates, our new airport is excellent, our sea gates and ports work well, there is a need for minor improvements when we look at the railways, but there are problems with our highway exits.”

“Europe Will Improve Kapıkule for Its Economy, Exports, Foreign Trade and Supply Chain”

Expressing that the company founded by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges renewed and operated all the doors and transferred them to the state, Şener states that this time they have EU funds. Stating that the European Union can do the project of making a new gate without leaving it to Bulgaria or Turkey, Şener said: "America spends 6,000 times, you build a gate with 8 thousand passes. Europe says, “We will improve logistics infrastructures in partner countries in the long-term to the advantage of Europe”. Europe will improve Kapıkule for its own economy, exports, foreign trade and supply chain, and this will benefit us as well. There are conspiracy theories from time to time. The EU is deliberately closing the door, pressing the brakes, forcing Turkey. The issue that forces Turkey is also challenging the EU.”

“Let's Relax the Gate, Trade Will Increase”

Expressing that there is a problem at the highway exits, Şener pointed out that it was not the trucks but export products which were waiting, and said that; “Three thousand trucks were waiting, even if the average was 100 thousand euros, 300 million euros would be waiting in the right lane. Isn't it a pity? The driver will go, unload, pay, distribute, produce, sell... We export, we cross the ocean, we drown in the stream. Everyone here has done their best. I met regional directors and customs directors there. If I'm not mistaken, we have around 180 domestic customs. There are a lot of employees. Turkey has about 30 road customs exits, 7-8 of them are not working. But Kapıkule is different. Half of Turkey's exports come from there. Normally, at our EU border, the target should be a maximum of 10 minutes of waiting. Let's relax the door, trade will increase.”

“Turkey Needs to Talk and Project this with the EU as soon as possible”

Stating that the improvements of the existing gates should continue and a new gate should be built, Şener also emphasizes that Turkey should talk about this issue with the EU and design a project as soon as possible. Şener said that; “After all, Turkey's exports remain. We will go to Brussels, we have to take a few of our European delegations to the door. There may also be officials of the EU delegation. After all, UND has partners there. We are together with the NGOs of many countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Hungary. We want to prepare a declaration together with those associations, after all, their trucks are also waiting. Normally, we need to raise awareness on the EU side. We have already made news on the Turkish side; the awareness arises. Turkey needs to talk to the EU about this as soon as possible and design a project.”

“This Sector Should Get Rid of This Trouble”

Underlining the need to build a transition-oriented gate, Şener states that this door can be made with intense work. Şener concluded his words as follows: “A special project is done quickly. The advantage of the project is to use advanced technology;  it would be the first time that both sides of the gate would be made at the same time and it would be designed as a single project. Perhaps many duplicate situations will be eliminated. An exemplary gate for the whole world can also be built. It is necessary to start this way by examining the examples in America. The issue is not Bulgaria, but the EU's ownership of this project, allocating funds for it and starting the current process without disrupting it. This industry should get rid of this problem.”