"Turkey and Europe
Turkey’s economy reported another stunning year of 6.1 per cent growth capping the longest and most stable stretch of uninterrupted growth since the 1970’s according to today’s FT . The Presidential and Parliamentary elections will add political uncertainty to the mix, but the comparison with Europe’s slow economies could not be starker and again, to my mind, highlights the fact that Europe needs Turkey at least as much as Turkey needs Europe. And even if some in the EU think a new big, vibrant and muslim member is a bad thing (surely the very reasons FOR inclusion), business thinks otherwise, as evidenced by the massive inward investment Turkey is attracting. And even the tiny economic bellweather that is Edelman Europe is pointing east as we see more and more of our big clients look to support their market entry and development there and the first few big Turkish firms contracting us for help in Europe and the US. I still think this is the most important issue facing the EU for the forseeable future."
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