Free court, free press important for EU investments in Turkey

"The immigration deal is very important for the European Union and relations with Turkey; actually it has the highest importance now," said European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici during an interview on April 25 in Istanbul. "We want to revitalize relations with Turkey in every field, including [the] economy. But for that structural reform, including fiscal policies, judicial reforms [and] freedom of press are highly important as well," Moscovici continued. "Investments need stability, predictability and security, that is why we talk about reforms and that includes free courts and free press, as I mentioned to Turkish ministers I talked to this morning."

Moscovici was in Istanbul to attend the High-Level EU-Turkey Economic Dialogue meetings hosted by Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce (TOBB) chairman Rifat Hisarc?kl?o?lu. There he met Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek, Economy Minister Mustafa Elita? and Trade and Customs Minister Bülent Tüfenkçi. Three other European commissioners were there in the meetings: Jyrki Katainen, in charge of growth and Investments; Johannes Hahn, in charge of enlargement; and Karmenu Vella, in charge of the environment and maritime affairs. A number of Ankara ambassadors to EU countries were present in the meetings as well. 

Moscovici is a European politician who is familiar with relations with Turkey. He was the French EU affairs minister in 1999 when Turkey was admitted as an official candidate for the EU. He is also a co-founder of Instut du Bosphor, a Turkish-French forum to promote Turkey-EU relations, before becoming the French finance minister. 

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of the European Council [Donald Tusk] and [the] deputy...