Kretschmer: Laws remain on paper in Turkey

ANKARA (AA) – Hansjorg Kretschmer, the head of European Union (EU) Commission Representation in Turkey, said on Thursday that rules or laws usually remained on paper in Turkey and could not be put into practice.

Kretschmer participated in a symposium held by the Competition Authority entitled, "Betterment of Investment Atmosphere in Full Membership Process to the EU and Competition Policy".

Kretschmer said the government would continue to increase investments to higher levels.

Replying to a question about the incentives given to provinces whose national income was below 1,500 U.S. dollars, Kretschmer said the government put such an implementation into practice aiming to increase investments in under-developed regions, stating that this was a right decision.

When reporters reminded Kretschmer that Entrepreneur Consultation Council would convene in Istanbul on March 15 and asked him to evaluate the point of view of those foreign companies to Turkey, he said there were just a few direct foreign investors in Turkey.

Kretschmer said Turkey actually had a very big economic potential, stating that government was aware of this and fulfilled various reforms in this respect. Kretschmer said the government has to fulfill reforms both in judicial system and competition policy system so that further improvement could be provided in investment atmosphere.

Mentioning the negative factors preventing foreign investment, Kretschmer said legal uncertainty and insufficient judicial system were among the most important elements. He said foreign investors felt uneasy over them.

Kretschmer said rules or laws usually remained on paper in Turkey and could not be put into practice, noting that discrimination and inequality were in question. He said rules and laws are imposed on only some companies and are not imposed on the other, noting that state support was also expended to only some companies. Kretschmer said there was no transparency in this respect.