EU Accession No Longer Vital to Turkey’s Interests

This week David Cameron called Turkey the BRIC of Europe, but still we expect no progress on the EU issue. This week French foreign minister Bernard Koucher pledged France’s support for Turkey, but still we should expect no progress on the EU issue. The EU will publish a review of Turkey’s progess towards joining the EU, we expect it to show little progress on the EU issue. Until France, Germany and others remove their block, which won’t happen until Turkey opens its ports to Greece, which won’t happen until and so on and so forth – suffice to say we are firmly in the land of deadlock.

But the fact is the Turkish economy grew by more than 10% in the first half of this year, and is predicted to grow 7.5% for the year as a whole, that is growth that Europe’s developed economies like France and Germany can only dream of.

According to a report by HSBC this week emerging markets will be on top of the world table of purchasing power parity within three years; three years during which they will drive the global economic recovery. Turkey was mentioned in the report as one of the biggest drivers of growth. Investment in Turkey is increasing at a rapid rate, including property investment.

EU accession is no longer vital to Turkey’s interests.

This is a common sentiment, in a Hurriyet Daily News article this week titled Forget the EU, RICHARD REID wrote:

In any case, Europe’s closed door may be irrelevant to Turkey’s general prospects. At the moment the country’s global image is one of rude health. Admiring eyebrows are being raised in the capitals that count. Turkey is no longer a minor player. Its momentum should before long carry it to a point where Europeans will be the suitors. And then Turkey can ask them to wait.

EU membership is “no longer such a big deal” for Turkey says Tolga OZCAN, director of Antalya real estate agent New Home in Turkey.

“The Turkish economy enjoyed double-digit growth in both the first and second quarters, with 11.7% growth in the first quarter and 10.3% in the second quarter, compared to growth of 0.7% and 2% respectively for the EU27,” he said. “During this time the biggest growth was recorded in Slovakia with 4.6% in Q1 and 5% in Q2.”

He continued: “On top of that the European banking infrastructure is in disarray, with severe doubts over exactly what levels of bad loans still exist in Spanish, German, Irish and other banks. Compare this to Turkey’s banking system, which, heavily reformed in 2001 is in incredibly good shape.”

Turkey is the BRIC of Europe Says UK PM David Cameron

In a message sent to an important U.K.-Turkish business event organized by the Turkish-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TBCCI), UK Prime Minister David Cameron has reiterated the party's sentiment that Turkey is the BRIC of Europe, in reference to the so-called BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, grouped together as the world's fastest growing emerging markets.

Turkey is the "BRIC of Europe," he said. "Everyone is talking about BRIC countries and the rapid growth in [the group’s] economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. We think that Turkey is a BRIC country of Europe," Cameron said.

This is at least the second time that Cameron has voiced such sentiment in relation to the Turkish economy.

One would find it hard to mount a reasonable argument against him, in fact the figures make Turkey exactly that.

According to Turkstat the Turkish economy grew 11.7% year on year in the first quarter of this year and 10.3% in the second quarter. This is compared to growth of 0.7% and 2% respectively for the EU bloc, and 4.6% and 5% respectively for Slovakia, the fastest growing economy in the EU according to Eurostat data.

The BRICs were put together in that anagram by Goldman Sachs because they were and were likely to be the fastest growing emerging economies in the world. Turkey is without doubt the fastest growing economy in Europe, which means it can be called the BRIC of Europe without too much fear. Wonder if Cameron is pulling any strings to get it into the EU?

Nah, on a serious note, Cameron said that trade between the UK and Turkey could be doubled if both sides work hard on it in the coming years.