It can also be said that Turkey is the only country in the region with the necessary institutional structure and capacity for integrating the region to the world economy through business association networks and partnerships.6 In addition to this, in terms of the EU’s long-term energy policy including petrol, natural gas and water sources, the increasing importance of the Middle East and Caspian Region has made Turkey a bridge to the energy sources in the region. With this strategic location, it is in the geo-strategic interest of the EU to have Turkey as a member with regard to the foreign and security policies dimensions. And, I believe that the Turkish accession will be a strategic opportunity for Europe. Distinguished guests, Despite the improvements in the Turkish economy, it is obvious that at the present stage Turkey has lower income per capita compared to the new members and acceding countries. However, we know that income per capita of the new members and acceding countries when they started negotiations was similar to that of Turkey. Actually, decomposing the equation of income per capita, we see that it is a product of productivity, employment rate, inverse of the dependency ratio7 and participation rate.8 In other words, increase in income per capita can be accelerated by productivity growth, increase in employment and labour participation rate and decelerated by increase in the dependency ratio. I will  6  Sak, G. (2005). "EU-Turkey Relations: Time for Contemplation? Time for Reality Check?” Berlin.
The Turkish accession today would imply an increase of more than 17 percent in the EU population. Indeed, between 1990-2003, the average population growth rate and the birth rate Turkey have been 1.8 percent and 2.3 percent per annum respectively.15 The Turkish population is expected to stay young in the foreseeable future. Whereas in the 2000 s, the EU-15 has 0.3 percent of population growth rate and 1.1 percent of birth rate on average at highly decreasing trends.16 According to certain estimations, in the year 2020, the average age in the EU-15 will be 43, while it will be 33 in Turkey17. This means that in the future, Europe will probably be experiencing labour shortages rather than the unemployment problems of today18. What this argument implies that Turkey s young and expanding population will reduce the negative impact of the EU s aging and diminishing work force in the coming 15-20 years. Turkey with a young population would be an important asset in the long-term in competing with countries such as China, India and the US. As another variable in the equation, we observe an advantageous position for Turkey regarding the dependency ratio. As a result of a young and growing population, the dependency ratio of the Turkish population is in a decreasing trend. As of the year 2000, the share of the age group of 55 and above in total population is 29 percent in the EU-15 while that of Turkey is a mere 11 percent19.