Polish-Turkish Chamber of Commerce Deputy Chairman Grzegorz Kobylecki

“Turkey’s journey into the EU is similar to that of Poland”

What kind of differences and similarities are there between Poland’s European Union (EU) candidacy process and that of Turkey?

As a person living in Turkey, I closely follow developments relating to Turkey’s EU membership. When thinking about Turkey’s EU candidacy process, I have a “déjà vu” in a sense. The pros and cons of membership, questions, problems and even the very excitement about EU that sags sometimes, are all the same. Just like in Turkey, also in Poland there was a decrease in popular support for membership as the EU membership process was prolonged.Poland’s negotiations with the EU began just after the first non-communist government came to power, that is to say in early 1990s. The period before the full membership was the one when, in addition to adopting and implementing new laws and regulations, radical transformations were carried out in various sectors such as agriculture, heavy industry, mining and banking.

The standards of the EU on state structure contained comprehensive reforms that were not always welcome by the public sector. Sometimes, albeit in a painful way, Polish people had to make concessions to put the economy in order and to fight the terrible inflation. Strikes followed one another and crises occurred. The situation Poland found herself in when it left the old socialist economy should not be forgotten. Everyone stood for the implementation of capitalist economy which is based on free movement of capital. However, in that period there was not private capital in Poland which could bring about privatization of the most important sectors of the economy with its own power. The state put banks, factories and the like on sale and then said, “Now buy them.” But there was not anyone to buy; neither was available money. Foreign capital has enormously exploited that situation and as a result 70% of banking sector belonged to foreigners. There are many such examples. However, as Polish companies have thrived in time they became able to compete with companies from the EU countries.

The term “cultural incompatibility” is often used regarding Turkey’s EU membership process. What are your views on this subject?

According to the cultural policy of the European Union, differences of cultures are a source of richness to be protected. With its rich culture and traditions, Turkey’s membership would bring two significant developments in the EU. First, it would lead to a discussion of the European identity and consequently to its redefinition. Second, it would open brand new perspectives on the restructuring of Europe’s foreign policy. I think these points have critical importance in the process of Turkey’s entry into the EU. Maybe it is much more important than all economic agreements.

What would you like to tell about the Polish-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and its activities?

The volume of trade between Turkey and Poland reached 3 billion dollars by 2007. When we evaluate the potentials and economic capabilities of the two countries, this figure is very low. I am sure the figure will reach 5-6 billion dollars in a few years. One of the greatest problems we have today is that we do not know each other enough.Turkey’s image in Poland is formed, above all, through bazaars where people can buy carpets, golden jewelry and desserts. Poland’s image in Turkey is formed through tourists who come to those bazaars. When I say to my Turkish friends that cars, machines and their spare parts come first among the items in the trade between Poland and Turkey, they get surprised very much. The same surprise is observed also in Poland.Poand’s growth rate in the last years was around 5-7% and Poland is among the fastest developing and growing EU countries. Poland’s exports in 2007 totaled to 1.3 billion dollars. Turkey has also experienced economic growth; it ranks 11th among the most attractive countries to invest in. These figures reflect the reality and we can make these works more productive by working in cooperation...

One of the primary duties of the Polish-Turkish Chamber of Commerce is to introduce Polish economy in Turkey and Turkish economy in Poland and to persuade businessmen from both countries that they can obtain very benefical results by cooperating. Behind today’s 3-billion-dollar trade volume, there are Turkish and Polish firms which are already convinced of this cooperation. According to our data, more than 200 Turkish-capitalized firms managed by Turkish citizens are registered in Poland. Such powerful Turkish firms as Beko, Mesa and Nurol have already entered the Polish market. On the other hand, Polish firms have also been operating in Turkey for a long time in important sectors, particualrly in energy and mining. For example, some thermal power plants were built by Polish firms in Turkey in the 1970s.

What other problems are firms having in the commercial sense?

One of the most important difficulties that firms of both countries face is to be able to obtain finance especially for overseas investments. Our purpose is to solce this problem at least to a certain degree. For this purpose, we have held a joint conference with BORYAD and Warsaw Stock Exchange. Initial public offering at Warsaw Stock Exchange and the opportunities to be provided to Turkish firms and investors in Poland were evaluated in detail. Fifty Turkish firms interested in obtaining capital in Poland were informed of the offers they would be given. During the conference, most of these firms had comprehensive talks with the representatives of Warsaw Stock Exchange. The conference brought the chairmen of Warsaw Stock Exchange and the IMKB (Istanbul Stock Exchnage) together and as a result negotiations were begun to sign a mutual cooperation agreement. I am sure these activities will bring positive results to both Turkish and Polish firms.