SABAH- Retired Ambassador Sukru Elekdag writes on the barriers before Turkey's entrance to the European Union. A summary of his column is as follows:
In order for Turkey to get out of the dangerous impasse it is currently in, it needs not only a healthy prime minister but also a government focused on the country's membership to the EU, one where the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) is not represented. If such an administration formula is not immediately put into effect, uncertainty and instability will continue and therefore the fire in the markets will remain roaring. At the point we're at now, it is not enough for Ecevit to withdraw and be replaced by a new prime minister to boost the markets and establish stability. The key factor which would boost the economy would be Ankara's success in getting a date for accession negotiations at the end of the year from the EU. If this is achieved, it will be proof to the whole world that Turkey has settled into a stable orbit. In the history of the EU, there is no country which has entered the negotiations process and then been rejected. Kemal Dervis is working on this point in agreement with business circles and he has stressed that if deadlock on the issue continues, the country will be unable to emerge from its crisis. Getting a date for accession negotiations from the EU will be a 'quality certificate' for this government. Thus, it will regain the credibility and confidence it has lost both on domestic and foreign markets. If this hapens, the funds fleeing the system will return to the economy and serve to trigger growth. In such an environment, foreign capital will find Turkey attractive and Turkey's fate will change. However, the coalition parties are throwing the present and future of Turkey into danger out of fear of not being elected again. They are stealing the future of the country for their blind ambitions. They are deciding to freeze questions on the EU leading to dispute within the government just to rule a little longer as a government. Thus they are inviting a new economic crisis and blocking Turkey's road to reach the standards of modern civilization. The future of the country is more precious than the future of its political parties. Unfortunately the Parliament has stayed silent and failed to take any initiative regarding the recent developments. Under these conditions, the only way out seems to enter elections as soon as possible.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION