From Poverty To Prosperity

BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on the need for Turkey to meet the EU’s Copenhagen criteria. A summary of his column is as follows:
We stand on the threshold of completely accepting the Copenhagen criteria, which are the modern world’s political principles for establishing democracy and the rule of law. The Turkish nation deserves this order. The Copenhagen criteria not only establish democratic order, but also create a basis for economic development in the countries where they are implemented. Turkey is a country where excessive red tape is very common, effectively strangling the free-market, globalized economy through its outrageous tricky regulations.
Maybe this isn’t the only cause of our poverty, but it’s certainly one of them. Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to understand the reasons for Turkey’s being mired in a poverty trap. At least, I hope so. In any case, we can address this problem through radical reforms.
The first goal of the European Union is to provide for the welfare of its member states. Those who enable the persistence of poverty shouldn’t expect a single vote from the Turkish people. We expect the government to prepare meaningful arrangements with no concessions to any ulterior motives contrary to this goal.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION