Turkish EU minister says true democracy is only tool to overcome economic crisis

BRUSSELS (A.A) - Turkish EU minister has said the only legitimate and effective tool to overcome the economic crisis was true democracy.  "We are passing through a very special era in the history of our globe. The global economic crisis is changing the architecture of the world economy and politics. What started as a financial crisis has begun to turn into a political one especially in some European countries, such as Greece and Italy. Technocratic governments came into power in those countries when the elected governments resigned," said EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis in his article published in Europolitics. "Next to the capability of the European Union to overcome the global financial crisis, the question whether the European Union sees the current democratic deficit as legitimate while struggling with the economic deficits is a big concern now. The recent experiences of Greece and Italy cause some doubts about the EU's sincerity on that issue. What we are witnessing is economic coups overthrowing the democratic and elected governments. It seems to be a real test in the near future for the EU how to sustain the balance between democracy and economy. Turkey sincerely warns the European friends that the EU can do nothing but undermine its own rules and values by moving away from the democratic framework," he said. Bagis said that the only legitimate and effective tool to overcome the economic crisis was true democracy, stating that the government's experience in Turkey for nine years was inspirational.  "The two magic words behind Turkey's great economic transformation are stability and confidence. Our strong and stable democratic government has been implementing a spectacular political and economic reform campaign during nine years in power. Our political programme envisages an upgraded democracy, a transparent and accountable administration, better governance and a developed civil society. Actually, the AK Party is the most reformist and most liberal government in Turkish history, which has brought Turkey into a more powerful position in the global problems. Turkey is now one of the leading countries in its region. The most important achievement of ours is investment we made in democracy in the last nine years. Now Turkey has been putting its imprint on the global stage with its impressive economic development and political stability," he said. Bagis said, "Turkey has a lot to contribute to world welfare as well as to Europe's. Thanks to the structural reforms following the 2001 crisis, Turkey is now enjoying a remarkable economic performance. The most important ingredient when solving our crises was a strong and stable democratic government, which enjoyed the confidence of our citizens and global investors. Currently, Turkey is the 16th largest economy in the world and the 6th largest economy in Europe. The OECD estimates that Turkey will be the second highest growing country after China by 2017. The Turkish economy, which grew by 8.9% in 2010 and by 10.2% during the first half of 2011, is fuelled by direct global investments." "What is interesting is that 85% of all global investments in Turkey and 92% of investments made in the first half of 2011 have come from EU member countries. This is a clear indication that the business and economic decision makers of Europe are much ahead of their political counterparts," he said. "Turkey's demographic structure can be regarded as the 'missing part of the European puzzle'. Turkey has a young, dynamic, well-educated and multicultural population. According to the UN, Turkey entered into a period of 'demographic window of opportunity,' which is expected to continue until the mid-21st century. This will certainly be a boost period for the Turkish economy as a whole by creating a complementary circle of “consuming more, producing more and growing more,” which will be a golden opportunity for Europe, too. "Alongside her large and growing domestic market, mature and dynamic private sector, leading role in the region, liberal and secure investment environment, supply of high quality and cost-effective labor force, developed infrastructure and institutionalised economy, Turkey offers considerable opportunities and economic gains for the EU," he said. EU minister said, "as a natural bridge between both East-West and North-South, Turkey is an easy access point to natural and energy resources and to global markets especially including the large markets of the Balkans, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa. Some 70% of the energy resources are located in the South and the East of Turkey, while the largest energy consumer, Europe, is located in the West. "Turkey's accession will increase the size of the European internal market as well as the competitiveness of the EU in the global economy. We have already proved that Turkey does not downsize the slices that the EU members get from the EU cake. On the contrary, Turkey will enlarge the size of the cake as a whole when she becomes an EU member," he added.