EU commissioner skeptical of Turkey's growth

Although Turkey has made major progress in growth, its GDP per capita is still lower than the smallest EU member state, said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, in an interview in Istanbul last Friday. De Gucht called those who see the economy as a short cut for Turkey to enter the union to change their opinion. De Gucht said the reason the accession talks stopped are political, adding that if the accession negotiations were to be concluded, there would still be a lot of economic steps Turkey should take. Turkey is focusing on Europe in a negative way, De Gucht said, adding that the idea of Turkey’s economy looking more to the regional neighborhood and less to Europe is not right either. "I understand that the neighborhood is important for you, but that is not the way to move up the value chain," he said. "If you really would like to move up the value chain, you can do it with Europe not with your neighborhood."