BUSINESS Organisations for International Cooperation
The European Union
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 and an estimated population of over 510 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.
Turkey’s application to accede to the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union (EU), was made on 14th April 1987. After the ten founding members, Turkey was one of the first countries to become a member of the Council of Europe in 1949. The country has also been an associate member of the Western European Union from 1992 to its end in 2011. Turkey signed a Customs Union agreement with the EU in 1995 and was officially recognised as a candidate for full membership on 12th December 1999, at the Helsinki summit of the European Council. Negotiations for full membership were started on the 3rd October 2005. Progress was slow, and out of the 35 Chapters necessary to complete the accession process only 16 had been opened and one had been closed by May 2016. The early 2016 refugee deal between Turkey and the European Union was intended to accelerate negotiations after previous stagnation and to allow visa-free travel through Europe for Turks.
On 24th November 2016, the European Parliament voted to suspend accession negotiations with Turkey over human rights and rule of law concerns, though this decision was not binding. On 13th December, the Council of the European Union (comprising the ministers of the member states) resolved that it would open no new areas in Turkey's membership talks. As of 2017, Turkey’s accession talks have effectively stopped.
www.europa.eu
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established in 1964 As a principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. The organisation’s goals are to: “maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis.” The primary objective of UNCTAD is to formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. The conference meets once every four years. UNCTAD prepares an annual World Investment Report which focuses on analysing trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) at worldwide, regional and country levels, and on identifying ways to improve FDI’s contribution to development.
www.unctad.org/en
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) origins date back to 1960, when 18 European countries plus the United States and Canada joined forces to create an organisation dedicated to economic development. Today, it has 35 member countries which are from all round the world, and which include many of most advanced countries, as well as emerging countries like Mexico, Chile and Turkey.
OECD also works closely with emerging economies like the People's Republic of China, India and Brazil and developing economies in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
OECD uses its wealth of information on a broad range of topics to help governments foster prosperity and fight poverty through economic growth and financial stability. We help ensure the environmental implications of economic and social development are taken into account.
OECD’s mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world by building a stronger, cleaner and fairer world. To this end, OECD uses its wealth of information on a broad range of topics to help governments foster prosperity and fight poverty through economic growth and financial stability.
OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. It works with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. It measures productivity and global flows of trade and investment. It analyses and compares data to predict future trends. It sets international standards on a wide range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals.
OECD also looks at issues that directly affect everyone’s daily life, like how much people pay in taxes and social security, and how much leisure time they can take. It compares how different countries’ school systems are readying their young people for modern life, and how different countries’ pension systems will look after their citizens in old age.
www.oecd.org
The following OECD links may be accessed for further information about the Turkish economy :
