Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek invited the heads of the country’s top business association to a high-level EU investor meeting in Brussels, but their travel was blocked by a court-imposed ban stemming from their earlier criticism of government crackdowns, according to a special report by Now TV citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report states that Şimşek requested the participation of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) Chairman Orhan Turan and High Advisory Council Chairman Ömer Aras at the Türkiye-EU High-Level Economic Dialogue scheduled to take place Thursday in Brussels. However, prosecutors denied travel requests submitted by both executives due to ongoing judicial restrictions.
The dialogue, resuming after a six-year pause, aims to deepen economic cooperation between Turkey and the European Union. Minister Şimşek is slated to deliver the opening speech along with senior EU officials, including Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos.
Turan and Aras have been under a travel ban since mid-February, after delivering speeches at TÜSİAD’s general assembly in Istanbul that were critical of democratic backsliding in Turkey. They emphasized such issues as the dismissal of elected officials, judicial interference and erosion of the rule of law.
Following their remarks, both were taken to the Istanbul courthouse under police escort and put under judicial supervision. A prosecutor later filed charges against them for “publicly spreading misleading information through press and broadcast” and launched a separate investigation for allegedly “attempting to influence a fair trial.”
TÜSİAD’s leadership has long been considered a bellwether for the Turkish business community. Once seen as a powerful force in shaping policy, the association has grown more cautious since Turkey’s post-2016 authoritarian turn. Their February statements marked a rare public rebuke of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration from within the business elite.
The Now TV report suggests that despite the political sensitivities, Şimşek sought to include Turan and Aras in the Brussels talks to signal unity and seriousness in Turkey’s efforts to restore investor confidence. However, the judiciary refused to lift their travel ban, effectively sidelining them from the forum.
The Brussels meeting, part of a broader effort to revive Turkey-EU economic dialogue, includes participation from the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and top Turkish and European companies. Topics on the agenda include competitiveness, structural reforms and trade opportunities.
Şimşek, who co-chaired the inaugural meeting of the dialogue in 2016, has emphasized the importance of updating the 1995 Turkey-EU customs union and improving visa access for Turkish businesspeople. “We are ready for deeper and more multidimensional cooperation with the EU,” he said ahead of the meeting.
However, Şimşek’s positioning as a liberal-minded reformer has faced criticism.
> After a six-year break, the "high level economic dialogue" between the EU and Turkey continues today in Brussels. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek likes to present himself as a smart and liberal figure. But he is not. He is an integral part of the Erdogan regime. [https://t.co/wqrObbFgXN](https://t.co/wqrObbFgXN)
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> — Deniz Yücel (@Besser\_Deniz) [April 3, 2025](https://twitter.com/Besser_Deniz/status/1907703090993672226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yücel, who was jailed in Turkey for one year on bogus terrorism charges, commented on social media that Şimşek likes to present himself as a smart and liberal figure but remains an integral part of President Erdoğan’s repressive regime.
The incident highlights the growing tension between Turkey’s effort to rebrand itself as an investment destination and the political realities that continue to cast a long shadow over its democratic and legal institutions.
The exclusion of Turan and Aras from the Brussels meeting comes amid a broader crackdown that has drawn international concern, with more than 2,000 people detained since the March 19 detention and subsequent arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading opposition figure. The government’s response to the protests — including mass student arrests, media censorship and rising judicial pressure on critics — has laid bare the deepening divide between Turkey’s rhetoric to woo investors and its repressive domestic policies.