It is clear that in order for the young population to be an advantage for us, a very well designed and planned education strategy is a must. Indeed, the education level of the overall population in Turkey is getting better and Turkey is catching up with several of the new EU members. In the 25-34 age group, 11 percent of population has high level of education, which corresponds to the same level with Slovakia and nearly the same level with the Czech Republic.21 Hence, as the older generation leaves the market for the younger generation and the educational reforms are put into practice during the accession process, the education level of the Turkish labour force will increase and both the EU and the Turkish economy will benefit from it. Ladies and Gentlemen, Having touched briefly on the advantages of the EU from Turkey s membership, what I d like to talk about next is the other side of the coin; that is the advantages of Turkey from the accession process and the ultimate membership. As I mentioned in the early part of my speech, the performance of the Turkish economy for the last four years clearly indicates that Turkey successfully continues the process of economic restructuring. However, in our view, all the achievements so far now belong to the past. Nowadays, we have to start viewing developments with a longer-term and broader perspective in the context of the adjustment process for the EU membership.
In ten weeks representatives of 196 countries will gather in Paris at the COP21 summit to consider the world’s response to climate change. It is governments who must choose whether, and how, to pursue that 2 degree world. And the role of finance? Earlier this year, G20 Finance Ministers asked the Financial Stability Board to consider how the financial sector could take account of the risks climate change poses to our financial system. As Chair of the FSB I hosted a meeting last week where the private and public sectors discussed the current and prospective financial stability risks from climate change and what might be done to mitigate them. I want to share some thoughts on the way forward after providing some context beginning with lessons from the insurance sector. 9  Few business leaders list climate change as a near-term pressing risk. See, for instance, PWC’s annual survey of CEOs (www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-agenda/ceo-survey.html) and the Bank of England’s Systemic Risk Survey (www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/other/srs/srs2015h1.pdf). 10  Even credit ratings typically only look out to 3-5 years. 11  For instance, IPCC (2014) Conclusion SPM 2.1 notes that “cumulative emissions of CO2 largely determine global mean surface warming by the late 21st century and beyond”. The Stern review observes that “many greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, stay in the atmosphere for more than a century” (See The Stern Review of the Economic Effects of Climate Change (2006)). 12  The Cancun Agreement in 2010 committed governments to “hold the increase in global average temperature below two degrees”.