The evolution of the Turkish telecommunications, energy and transport sectors in light of EU harmonisation

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This study is an output of the research project: “The EU harmonization in Key Infrastructure Services (Telecommunications, Energy and Transport) and productivity growth” carried out by EDAM (Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies) in Istanbul and CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies) in Brussels. It was made possible by the financial support of the European Union’s Civil Society Dialogue: Europa – Bridges of Knowledge Programme. Given that Turkey has by and large been able to overcome the challenge of macro-economic stability, the focus of policy makers shifted to second generation reforms including the overhaul of structural policies. Yet at the same time, Turkey has initiated full membership negotiations with the EU which involve regulatory harmonisation in several fields. Therefore the relationship between EU harmonisation and the need for second generation reforms in a country like Turkey should be examined in more detail. The objective of this study is essentially twofold. It aims to carry out a gap analysis regarding the level of regulatory harmonisation in three key infrastructure sectors. As a result, the main shortcomings in terms of regulatory harmonisation are highlighted. The focus is however on the part of the acquis that has a bearing on economic productivity since the second aim of the study is to uncover the linkages between EU acquis adoption, regulatory good governance and productivity growth.