The EU Center will be jointly facilitated by the Turkish Ministry of State?s EU General Secretariat and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality?s EU Affairs Department. VIA
Turkey and the EU: hurtful uncertainty | Şevket Pamuk | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
Istanbul Metro Station, Taksim: Turkish Conquest of Constantinople. Photo by Jenny White
(click here for the full NY Times article). FOUND IN: Ottomania: The Empire Strikes Back
Dutch MPs cancel trip to Turkey | Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Disappointment in Turkey over cancelled trip
Turkish MPs are disappointed the Dutch parliament has cancelled a fact-finding mission about the country’s wishes to join the European Union, the NRC reports on Thursday.
Wilders and Turkey?s anti-democratization camp
Foresight analysis measures the potential impacts of foreign and domestic policy actions. For the purpose of writing this column I have chosen a number of Dutch and Turkish actors as part of a simulation exercise, and without meaning it to be derogatory in any way, have put them into a grid system of four adjacent boxes.
BB+ for Turkey
ASSETS
* Thanks to economic growth and tight fiscal policy, since the 2001 financial crisis, public sector debt has come down to manageable levels..
* Reforms and restructuring have strengthened the banking sector.
* Economic growth rests on more solid foundations, driven by a dynamic private sector, productivity gains, and higher value-added production.
* The prospect of economic convergence with the European Union, demographic dynamism, and the country’s pivotal regional position tend to enhance the Turkish market’s attractiveness.
WEAKNESSES
* With its extensive external financing needs, the highest of all emerging countries, Turkey remains very dependent on capital markets.
* The sharp rise of foreign currency debt in the private sector has increased its exposure to exchange rate risk.
* The antagonism between the government and militant Kemalists remains a recurring source of instability.