ANKARA (AA) - Andrew Vorkink, the Country Director of the World Bank for Turkey, said on Monday that Turkey stood at the point of a historic transformation like the east and central European countries after collapse of the Eastern Bloc.
In an interview with the A.A, Vorkink said that the EU would have a positive impact on economic and social structure of Turkey, and that Turkey would transform from a developing country to an industrialized country at the end of the EU negotiation process.
Referring to statements of several EU officials who said that Turkey had a weak economy, Vorkink said that those definitions were totally wrongful, stressing that Turkey had a more active economy than many of EU member and candidate countries.
''Turkish economy has a growth speed 35 times higher than the average of the EU. Turkey has a more dynamic economy than the EU-member countries. I believe that level of income will increase by 50-60 percent in Turkey after beginning of the EU negotiation process,'' he said.
Noting that if Slovakia had applied to the EU four years ago, it would not have become a member of the Union, Vorkink said that Slovakia became a perfect candidate state as a result of unbelievable reforms in the four-year negotiations process.
Emphasizing that Turkey should concentrate on structural reforms in its EU negotiations process, Vorkink said that Turkey should give priority to the sector of education since Turkey would become the most competitive economy in the EU when it succeeded in combining education with its young population.
I believe that Turkey will become a full member of the EU at the end of the negotiation process, he said.
Vorkink said that they would support Turkey's adjustment to the EU by bringing in several experts from the EU.
(UK-A֩
2005-01-03