Ertugrul Ozkok:Code name: The Viking Train Code name: The Viking Train
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 13, 2007 12:29
In the first days of Romanian and Bulgarian EU membership, a piece of "economic intelligence" emerged in Ankara, though lately, this piece of intelligence has turned into a full-fledged economic war between Turkey and Germany. Today I will tell the story of this war.
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In short, the information coming in from Sofia to Ankara was like this: "Germany has decided to build a giant logistics center in Bulgaria." The word was that Germany was set on turning Bulgaria into a regional power in the world of TIR transport. ('TIR' being the giant transportation trucks that criss-cross Europe delivering and picking up all manner of goods.) This decision, of course, was of great interest to Ankara, because right now, Turkey is Europe's largest TIR ground transport country. Turkish TIRs make 160 thousand trips into Europe annually. Thus the German decision represented a serious threat to this position. But Turkish transport companies are prepared for every kind of competition possible. So the real matter was that the news of this decision emerged along with Bulgaria's EU membership. Because on its first day of official EU membership, Bulgaria had already started to block Turkish TIRs from crossing over the land border with Bulgaria.
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What's more, the German decision to build the logistics center in Bulgaria is completely anathema to the spirits and the open rules of the EU and the Customs Union. Chancellor Merkel is playing with Turkey's bread, so to speak. And so what we have before us is another negative situation involving the EU. The EU generally helps new members economically. Until today, no such help has come through for Turkey, though of course we are not an EU member. But now what we see is an attempt to take work out of our hands. Germany, in trying to help Bulgaria, is hurting us. But Turkey is a dynamic country. Unlike either Greece or Bulgaria, it has not looked to the hands of the EU for help. Turkish companies have been carrying off incredible projects, miracles over the past years.
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Turkish transportation workers have begun to search out alternatives. And in the end, a new "Silk Road" is discovered.....the name of the new solution is the "Viking Train." Under this plan, the TIRs will be loaded up in Pendik or Bartin. From there, the TIRs will go by ship to the Ukraine's Ilicevski or Odessa Ports. From there, by Viking train, over Belorussia to Lithuania's Klaipede Port, and from there to ferryboats that leave every day from Klaipede to all over Europe.
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Are there difficulties with this plan? Of course there are. The Ukraine has a system already in place, and the transfer of goods from boat to train might involve bureaucratic difficulties which would slow everything down. But in coming days, the Ukrainian Transportation Minister is expected in Ankara to take steps in solving these potential problems.
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Of course, discussing all this, the following questions do come to mind:
Yearly trade between Turkey and Germany is at 24.5 billion Euro. And of this total, 4.5 billion Euro are in Germany's favor. An annual 50 thousands or so TIR trips are made from Turkey to Germany alone. So why is Germany behaving this way? Is it really good politics to help Bulgaria at the expense of losing Turkey? And who does it help when you intervene in the workings of a liberal economy? Especially when that Viking train really does exist? I still want to believe that Germany will pass up on acting on this ridiculous plan.
In short, the information coming in from Sofia to Ankara was like this: "Germany has decided to build a giant logistics center in Bulgaria." The word was that Germany was set on turning Bulgaria into a regional power in the world of TIR transport. ('TIR' being the giant transportation trucks that criss-cross Europe delivering and picking up all manner of goods.) This decision, of course, was of great interest to Ankara, because right now, Turkey is Europe's largest TIR ground transport country. Turkish TIRs make 160 thousand trips into Europe annually. Thus the German decision represented a serious threat to this position. But Turkish transport companies are prepared for every kind of competition possible. So the real matter was that the news of this decision emerged along with Bulgaria's EU membership. Because on its first day of official EU membership, Bulgaria had already started to block Turkish TIRs from crossing over the land border with Bulgaria.
******
What's more, the German decision to build the logistics center in Bulgaria is completely anathema to the spirits and the open rules of the EU and the Customs Union. Chancellor Merkel is playing with Turkey's bread, so to speak. And so what we have before us is another negative situation involving the EU. The EU generally helps new members economically. Until today, no such help has come through for Turkey, though of course we are not an EU member. But now what we see is an attempt to take work out of our hands. Germany, in trying to help Bulgaria, is hurting us. But Turkey is a dynamic country. Unlike either Greece or Bulgaria, it has not looked to the hands of the EU for help. Turkish companies have been carrying off incredible projects, miracles over the past years.
******
Turkish transportation workers have begun to search out alternatives. And in the end, a new "Silk Road" is discovered.....the name of the new solution is the "Viking Train." Under this plan, the TIRs will be loaded up in Pendik or Bartin. From there, the TIRs will go by ship to the Ukraine's Ilicevski or Odessa Ports. From there, by Viking train, over Belorussia to Lithuania's Klaipede Port, and from there to ferryboats that leave every day from Klaipede to all over Europe.
******
Are there difficulties with this plan? Of course there are. The Ukraine has a system already in place, and the transfer of goods from boat to train might involve bureaucratic difficulties which would slow everything down. But in coming days, the Ukrainian Transportation Minister is expected in Ankara to take steps in solving these potential problems.
******
Of course, discussing all this, the following questions do come to mind:
Yearly trade between Turkey and Germany is at 24.5 billion Euro. And of this total, 4.5 billion Euro are in Germany's favor. An annual 50 thousands or so TIR trips are made from Turkey to Germany alone. So why is Germany behaving this way? Is it really good politics to help Bulgaria at the expense of losing Turkey? And who does it help when you intervene in the workings of a liberal economy? Especially when that Viking train really does exist? I still want to believe that Germany will pass up on acting on this ridiculous plan.