Survey to assess the EU affairs knowledge
among Turkish companies

In the context of the enlargement process, the implementation of the legislation is as important as the adaptation of the Turkish legislation to that of the European Union.

The majority of the Turkish legislation adapted to the EU acquis communautaire will directly or indirectly affect Turkish enterprises.

It is therefore crucial to assess the Turkish companies’ needs in terms of information on the so-called acquis communautaire. This will allow targeting the information which needs to be provided to the businesses so that they can make the necessary changes in their daily business.

In the context of the ETCF project, the Survey on “Corporate preparations in Turkey for EU membership” was carried between July and September 2008. 2.878 Turkish companies from all regions, size and sectors have responded to a detailed questionnaire. The survey is therefore an important indication of perceptions and opinions of Turkish businesses.

The Turkish local Chambers have been involved in the dissemination and collection of the survey questionnaires.

The survey objective was to provide a detailed insight into the level of awareness and readiness of Turkish companies to apply EU legislation, and to gauge businesses’ opinion about Turkey’s accession to the EU, and in particular their expectations, fears and hopes. The survey results should help to bridge the current information gap on the business-related EU legislation. It will also provide the opportunity to enhance the debate in Turkey on EU membership within the civil society.

The Survey report was presented on 3 November in Brussels in the context of a conference jointly organized by EUROCHAMBRES and TOBB. Mr. Pierre Simon, President of EUROCHAMBRES and Mr. İ. Tamer Taşkın Member of Executive Board of TOBB participated to conference, as well as Mr. Michael Leigh, Director General of the DG Enlargement (European Commission), H. E. Ambassador Volkan Bozkır, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the EU and Mr. Dirk Vantyghem, Director of the EUROCHAMBRES International Affairs department.

The Survey results are also the basis for the design of the other major activities within the ETCF project. In particular, they will allow identifying 6 specific European policies which will be implemented through seminars and publications.