New member countries of the European Union (Bulgaria and Romania) and Turkey: Analysis of competition power

In this study, analysis of the competition power of Turkey versus Bulgaria and Romania, which become members of the European Union on January 1st of 2007, at the European Union market is aimed by using SITC Rev. 3 classification at the sector groups level for the period between 1993-2004 and by means of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) Index.Firstly, economical and political structures of two new EU member countries, Bulgaria and Romania, before and after the transformation are inverstigated in the study, and then the EU membership processes of both countries are mentioned. Furthermore, the assesment of the EU candidacy process of Turkey is made. In the last part of the study, Turkey?s competition power versus Bulgaria and Romania at the EU market is analyzed.As a result of the calculations performed, it is seen that in the period considered (1993-1994), Turkey does not have a competitive advantage over Bulgaria in the agriculture and energy sectors, whereas Turkey has a competitive advantage in the industry sector since the year 2001. It is also concluded that in the period considered (1993-2004), although Turkey has a competitive advantage over Romania in the agriculture sector, a competitive advantage of Turkey does not exist in the energy and industry sectors.Keywords:1. European Union2. Bulgaria and Romania3. Turkey4. Competition Power5. Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) Index