ANKARA - State Minister Ali Babacan said on Sunday that Turkey would be a country which caught Maastricht criteria in 2007.
Babacan attended a program on a private TV channel and said that it would take time to remove some problems in Turkey, adding, ''but we hope that Turkey will be a country which caught Maastricht criteria in 2007.''
He said that Turkey reached a position that it could pay debt to International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year.
Upon a question on inflation rate, Babacan said that there was a wrong perception that decrease in inflation rate meant decrease in prices, and stressed there was slowdown in prices.
Stating that it would take some time for decrease in inflation rate to become concrete in life of citizens, he said that the most important issue was unemployment.
Babacan said that the new minimum wage did not become definite yet, but it would become definite till the end of 2003.
Concerning erasing zeros from TL, Babacan recalled that draft law on this issue was prepared and sent to the Prime Ministry Office.
Stating that Central Bank and the Mint began their works on this issue, he said that after the draft law was enacted, works would be accelerated.
When asked whether or not revaluation of TL would also continue in 2004, Babacan said that it was unavoidable and Central Bank would do what was necessary on this issue.
(EÖ-UK) 14.12.2003