Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB President and Eurochambres Vice President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, along with the TOBB board Vice President Ender Yorgancılar and TOBB Board Member, attended the second Association of Balkan Chambers held this year.

In his speech, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the political and economic situation in Europe will be increasingly important for the Balkans in the future. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “That is why we must work harder; render the ABC community stronger and active among national states and European institutions.”

Speaking in regards to the European Commission Expansion Strategy and Progress Report released last month, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This shows that the European continent has yet to complete its expansion. Peace, equality and prosperity have yet to be distributed evenly in Europe. We must all transform our economies. We must all take the EU as our reference point for our internal reform and transformation processes.”

- “Deep reforms are necessary”

Reporting that the growth rate in Germany is still too slow and that growth in France is slowing down, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Italy will shrink. There are indications that the UK’s economic revitalization is suffering due to the low performance of the Eurozone. The growth in Spain is slowing down in the third quarter – Spanish exports are slowing down as well. IMF has urged the EU to make deep structural reforms.”

- Job market reform is a must

Reminding that the IMF has lowered the global growth figures for the third time this year, M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Unemployment is still too high in a couple of countries and job creation seems difficult. The European Central Bank has announced that a third of unemployment is caused by structural reasons. This means that a solution is impossible without structural job market reform. Neither the global economic situation nor the European economic performance will do us any good. This shows that we must remain inactive. Quite the contrary: We must be better prepared because there is no practical alternative to expansion. There are no alternatives to the European Union for peace and prosperity in Europe. That is why an integrated Europe is still our shared future. These reforms must cover education, healthcare, employment policy, public spending, efficiency and transparency.”

During the second session of the meeting presentations were made on the subjects of Trade Guide Facilitation for speeding up the flow of goods on Corridor VII and X, CEFTA-DIHK Partnership Project and the International Trade Arbitration Debate to be held in Sofia.