Main drivers of the improvement in the current account balance will be the recovery in exports and the weaker imports due to real exchange rate. Figure 5. Current Account Balance (CAB) (12-Month Cumulative, % of GDP) 0 -1  CAB/GDP  CAB/GDP (excl. gold)  -2 -3 -3,9 -4 -4,1  -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10  1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  Source: CBRT. We think that exports will be one of the main drivers of growth in 2017. The main contribution to exports is expected from the European demand. Turkish exports are highly sensitive to the demand from Europe which constitute more than half of our total exports. Latest projections suggest that EU demand will continue to support Turkish exports in the forthcoming period (Figure 6). Moreover, recently improved relations with our neighbors have also started contributing to the export growth again after a long stagnation period. Recently, there is some slight recovery in exports to our main major trading partners such as Iraq and Russia. The recovery process is expected to continue throughout 2017. Overall, we anticipate a sizeable contribution from exports to growth in 2017. Figure 6.
It is in this group that, for example, many of the decisions were taken so that monetary union could start on time. The budget policies of the Member States have also been monitored here and this will continue under the Stability Pact. Moreover, Ecofin draws up an annual “budget statement”, the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines, containing the principles for economic policy in the EU area. BIS Review 50/1998  -6-  •  Most of the matters on the Ecofin agenda have been prepared by the Monetary Committee, which besides representatives for each of the fifteen Member States (normally an under-secretary of state or a deputy central bank governor) includes representatives for the Commission and, more recently, for the EMI. When monetary union starts, the name of the Monetary Committee will be changed to Economic and Financial Committee but at present it seems that its composition will be unchanged apart from the EMI being replaced by the ECB. Work on monetary union has been a heavy burden for these bodies in recent years. Meetings have been protracted and business has ranged from major issues like the Stability and Growth Pact, the new European exchange rate system (ERM2) and legislation for monetary union to matters such as the design of the European coinage. Some of the structure is now changing with the advent of monetary union but not its basic features. The preparatory work is over, as is a good deal of the work connected with ERM.