Turkey’s EU future takes centre stage at EURACTIV Istanbul event

EURACTIV Turkey celebrated its first birthday in Istanbul on 21 October in the presence of government officials and renowned names from the business and media worlds. The event took place against a backdrop of the global financial crisis and doubts about the country’s EU future.

Outlining the portal’s ambitions, EURACTIV Turkey’s editor-in-chief Zeynep Gögü? said the aim was to continue developing as a trusted information network and discussion platform able to contribute to the debate surrounding Turkey’s EU membership bid. 

The portal, launched on 17 October 2007, is led by Istanbul-based company Medya Europa, in strategic partnership with two of Turkey’s top newspapers, Hürriyet and Referans Gazetasi. 

Eyüp Can Saglik, editor-in-chief of Referans, said he was honoured to convey specialised EU content free-of-charge to a wide Turkish audience. 

Christophe Leclercq, the founder and publisher of euractiv.com, observed that the EU policy portal’s “enlargement process” had to a great extent matched that of the European Union itself. 

In addition to Turkey and the central English, French and German versions, the EURACTIV network also covers Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and there are plans to develop further. 

Leclercq said it was no coincidence that Turkey featured among the 20 nations to meet at a Washington summit on 15 November, which is to tackle the global economic crisis and review the world’s financial architecture. He added that as a result of its recent history, Turkey had valuable experience of managing crises to share with the EU in a spirit of increased coordination. 

The group of 20 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the United States, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. 

I? Portföy General Manager Gürman Tevfik outlined the need for a “new Bretton Woods” from a Turkish perspective. He particularly emphasized the need to establish a more “ethical” global financial system. 

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