Browsing by Subject "Black Sea Economic Cooperation"
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Item Open Access The contribution of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation organisation to regional development(Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 2002) Sayan, S.Prior to the disintegration in the late 1980s of the Soviet bloc and then the Soviet Union itself, most of the economies in eastern Europe were members of CMEA/COMECON (the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance) that was formed to divert trade away from the market economies in the west.1 The development, under Soviet planning, of strong input-output linkages between industries in different countries/republics led to a signifi- cant degree of complementarity between member economies. This complementarity successfully diverted trade away from non-members, facilitating the maintenance of high degrees of in-bloc self-sufficiency. The feasibility of barter trade between members also contributed to this process by helping these countries overcome their hard currency constraints (Gultekin and Mumcu, 1996). Following the collapse of the Soviet bloc and hence of CMEA, the ex-Soviet republics gained independence while the formerly so- cialist nations of eastern Europe became exposed to competition for global markets amongst the market economies. A considerable portion of trade in these markets was controlled by regional trade blocs. So, when Turkey - then perceived to be a regional power with a relatively well-functioning market economy - called for the formation of a regional economic co-operation zone between the countries around the Black Sea in 1990, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania and Russia imme- diately responded by sending representatives to Ankara, Turkey to discuss the project.Item Open Access Turkey and the European Union : other complementary options?(Bilkent University, 2001-09) Weidemann, VeraIs Turkey’s perception of membership in the European Union (EU) as an ‘ultimate goal’ justified? Are there complementary options supporting Turkey’s membership in the Union? These questions are the focus of the present thesis. In order to find an answer to these questions, the present thesis displays the shift in EU policies toward Turkey from 1997 to 1999 and its reasons. Furthermore it proceeds to display the criteria Turkey has to fulfill before accession negotiations can be opened. In particular, the work examines to what extent Turkey already meets the political Copenhagen criteria and, therefore, what kind of a reform process needs to be launched in order to fulfill the requirements not yet met. While investigating complementary possibilities for cooperation, first Turkey’s chances for cooperation with its Middle Eastern neighbors, as well as with Israel and the Turkic Republics are taken up. The thesis will also examine, whether Turkey’s membership in the organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation could be supportive of its prospective accession to the EU The work concludes that although the way to accession to the EU will be rocky for Turkey, its actual membership is desirable. Turkey has to strive for membership in the EU if it wants to strengthen its position within the international system of states on the one hand and consolidate its democracy and economy on the other. Turkey’s membership in the organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation could be complementary in many respects to its prospective membership in the EU.