Regional policy of European Union and Turkey: Applications and acquired results

ABSTRACTREGIONAL POLICY OF EUROPEAN UNION AND TURKEY: APPLICATIONS AND ACQUIREDRESULTSB LD R R, H.NisaM.A. Thesis, Department of EconomicsSupervisor: Prof. Dr. smail H. ÖZSABUNCUOĞLUAugust 2005, 134 pagesEU, as of the date it was founded, determined an expansion strategy and integretad the countries which havedifferent socio-economic structures. As a result of this strategy it has been faced the problem of regional differences inEU as well as in the member countries. EU developed the ?EU Regional Policy? in order to overcome the negativeresults of regional differences, to strengenthen the harmonisation and solidarity amoung the regions, and meantime torealise the economic integration.The regional differences that exist in all countries, is a serious problem that must be overcome by Turkey. For afull membership of EU, Turkey must eliminate the regional imbalances, and after being a full member of EU there willbe a long way to go for Turkey in order to improve her position in EU. During the adaptation process which requireschanges in administrative, conceptual, and legal issues, Turkey has the oppurtunity to benefit from the EU?s financialand technical sources besides her own means.For meeting the expectancies of EU in the frame of Accession Partnership and Regular Reports, Turkey hasbegun its operations under the headline of Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments chapter ofTurkish National Programme.Key words: Regional differences, Regional development, Regional policies of Turkey and EU, Economic integration.