Turkish finance minister forecasted the country’s growth rates nearly tripling that of the EU’s in the long term. Turkey's Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said year-end growth figures of Turkey are expected to be between 3.5 and 5.5 percent, while European Union (EU) is expected to grow between 0.7 and 1.4 percent.Simsek said the EU was foreseen to grow around 1.8-2 percent in the medium term, and the projections of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for Turkey's growth between 2011 and 2017 was around 6.7 percent.
"Considering the growth forecasts, Turkey may achive growth rates that are3 times more than the EU’s," he said, referring to several projections that show Turkey having a sustained growth rate of 5 percent till 2050.