Turkish economy a miracle, says EU Vice President Rehn

BRUSSELS - Anatolia News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan meets with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, one day after his meeting with Olli Rehn on the eveningn of May 15.

Turkey’s economy has undergone a miracle over the past ten years, especially with regards to the country curbing its public debt, said Olli Rehn, EU Vice President in charge of monetary and financial matters, speaking at a panel in Brussels titled “Time to Face Economic Realities: The Difficulties and Expectations Ahead for the EU and Turkey.”

Turkey’s financial policies and reforms had allowed it to respond to the global economic crisis in an “extraordinary” fashion, he noted.

“After the crisis, Turkey’s quick growth spurt allowed its economy to become the 16th largest in the world and as a result Turkey was accepted into the G-20,” said Rehn. He also stressed that Turkey’s inflation rate had dropped from an average 75 percent in the 1990s to 11 percent today, its public debt had been halved, and its banking sector reformed.

Turkey did everything differently with regard to economic policies than Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said speaking at the panel. Turkey put in place policies to curb government spending after the 2008 economic crisis, while the countries mentioned by Babacan did the opposite.

“Time has proven us right,” said Babacan, noting that at the time Turkey’s policies were been heavily criticized. He also reiterated Turkey’s commitment to becoming part of the European Union (EU), despite the region’s current economic troubles.

Meanwhile U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone said yesterday that Turkey had made great progress and significant reforms in order to become the world’s 17th largest economy. The United States supports Turkey’s ambition to become one of the 10 largest economies in the world by 2023, and believes it will achieve that target, Ricciardone said during a meeting with the Governor of Afyonkarahisar İrfan Balkanlıoğlu.