"Turkey's pro-EU lobby plans a quiet celebration
By Vincent Boland in Ankara
Published: December 13 2004 18:57 | Last updated: December 13 2004 18:57
Turkey's powerful business lobby is readying itself, ahead of the European Union's vote at the end of the week to begin membership talks with the country, to express its satisfaction.
There will be little fanfare. That is not the style of Tusiad, the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association. It has been one of the most fervently pro-EU of Turkish institutions. It has wielded this influence behind the scenes, but it has also entered the public arena - not always happily - with its views on what Turkey needs to do to become an EU member.
'We are not a political organisation,' insists Oktay Varlier, an executive at Alarko Holding, a Turkish conglomerate, and board member of Tusiad. "
More:FT.com / World / Brussels briefing - Turkey's pro-EU lobby plans a quiet celebration
