A LONG AND HARD ROAD The EU accession process pushes Turkey"s development forward

• Turkey expects its economy to grow 7.5% this year, and 5.5% in 2011

• Ali Babacan, deputy prime minister: "The changes of these past few years prove that a country in which 99% of its citizens are Muslims can truly be a democracy"

If you don"t want us, we don"t want you either, the majority of Turkish citizens say when it comes to the accession in the EU, in the face of growing opposition to their accession, especially from France and Germany. Even though the number of those who support the accession has dropped dramatically (from 70% to 30%), the authorities of Ankara see the accession process as a reason to push the country"s development further, after it has already achieved remarkable changes, in these past few years.

"European politicians don"t truly understand what is happening in Turkey, their perception of the country is obsolete", said Mehmet Shimshek, Turkey"s minister of Finance, during an official visit of a delegation of the European Union. He added: "Politicians got scared that Turkey would be a burden for the Union, because of its poverty. That may have been true in the past. We are not interested in joining the EU just for the economic benefits. Joining the EU involves major political, economic and social changes. We believe that if we join the EU, we will have more rights, more freedoms, higher standards of democracy and governance. We have patience. We will make the necessary changes. Politicians come and go, and the EU needs us. If it wants to be a major player in the international trade, if it doesn"t want to lose ground to China and India, it needs us".

Turkey"s economy successfully weathered the first wave of the crisis; the banking sector was solid, because it was restructured following the crisis of 2001. The real economy was however affected, due to its ties to the EU. In 2009, the economy dropped 4.7%, even though Turkey was expecting a growth of 6.5%. The European Commission estimates a growth of 7.5% in 2010, 5.5% in 2011, and 4.5% in 2012.

According to the Minister of Finance, the impact of the debts of European countries on Turkey"s economy was limited, because Turkey"s exposure was to countries that had no major problems - Germany, Great Britain, France.

Foreign investments are also lower than they were before the crisis, as 70-80% of them originated from the European Union.

"The trade deficit is huge, but it is caused by the imports of energy from Russia. Turkey also has a deficit on the segment of consumer goods imported from China, and the appreciation of the lira is affecting the country"s exports", said Michele Villani, the head of the Trade, Economy and Agriculture Section of the delegation of the EU sent to Turkey.

The commercial exchanges between Turkey and the EU amount to 100 billion Euros a year. The union is Turkey"s main trade partner, while Turkey is the seventh largest trade partner of the EU.

According to Turkish officials, the country"s main problems are the low saving rate and the high level of unemployment.

"We don"t have enough savings, which is why we can"t support an accelerated economic growth", Mehmet Shimshek added.

According to him, 800,000 graduates enter the labor market each year, so, even if everyone kept their jobs, the unemployment would still rise (it currently stands below 10%).

Turkish officials admit that the country still has a long way to go until its accession to the Union, but they say that the changes required by the EU are something that the country needs.

"What is important is to complete the transformations. We are not talking about accession today. Perhaps twenty years from now, things will be different", Mr. Shimshek said.

Deputy prime-minister Ali Babacan says that the changes of these past few years prove that a country in which 99% of its citizens are Muslims can truly be a democracy: "We use diplomacy as our main way to solve problems. We are contributing to peace in the region. The economy is far more open. We don"t use trade protectionism measures, capital moves freely. We also reformed the banking system in 2004-2006, so that during the crisis the banks were very solid. We have a three-year program to lower the deficit and keep public debt under control. The ratings have increased, the CDS (ed. note: credit default swap - reflect a country"s risk of default) are at a record low. Twelve countries in the EU have higher CDS quotes than Turkey".

• Anti European Students

The opinions of the politicians are completely the opposite of those shared by the population and by students. In a class of 45 students of the Anadolu University of Eskishehir, only one said he was in favor of Turkey joining the EU. And that university is definitely one to be counted, as it has 70,000 students in its daytime classes and another 1,500,000 that follow its distance learning courses.

Figan, a student of the Communication University, considers that the EU is trying to hinder Turkey"s integration in the EU. Derya, another student, says that Turkey has already taken significant steps towards becoming a EU member. "I am sure there are many steps to be taken, but we feel that what we"ve achieved so far is being brushed aside. If we don"t get accepted, we should do the necessary changes for ourselves and not for Europe", Derya said.

However, students see some benefits in joining the EU, such as unrestricted travel and access to education.