A World Bank chief economist told the Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that Türkiye's economic standing will likely surpass that of Romania and Bulgaria by the time it is ready for EU membership, pointing to Türkiye's already-strong performance in several indicators relative to those two countries.
Aristomene Varoudakis credited the sustained growth Türkiye has achieved since 2002 for driving up exports, boosting productivity, and attracting significant foreign investment. He described the country's economic potential as considerable and expected it to become more apparent in the years ahead.
At the same time, Varoudakis identified a number of vulnerabilities requiring attention, including the current account deficit, the employment rate, and the need for lasting, stable growth. He argued that keeping the deficit under control is essential to putting growth on a sustainable footing.
On unemployment, he pointed to two main factors: the structure of Türkiye's companies, which struggle to generate sufficient jobs while operating under a strong currency, and insufficient flexibility in the labor market. He said that greater labor-market flexibility tends to raise employment levels, but added that workers in such an environment must be protected by a sound social security system.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in March 2006, in its own words.