DEVA Party leader Ali Babacan warns that corruption is damaging Turkey’s economy and urges the government to adopt European standards on public procurement and transparency.
Ali Babacan, Chairman of Turkey’s Democracy and Progress (DEVA) Party, has called for comprehensive legal reforms to combat corruption, warning that the scale of the problem has reached a point where it is seriously damaging the country’s economy.
Speaking at the Antalya Forum, Babacan criticised what he described as the government’s failure to address longstanding corruption concerns in both central and local administrations.
Corruption and Its Economic Consequences
Babacan argued that recent investment fund fraud and market manipulation scandals had brought corruption into public debate, although he claimed that many of the underlying problems had been widely known for years.
He questioned why the authorities had failed to intervene earlier, referring to previous statements by government ministers acknowledging awareness of alleged financial irregularities.
“Why did you wait until now?” he asked, arguing that delays had allowed the problems to grow into a much greater financial burden.
Babacan also claimed that more than $170 billion had been lost in the market value of publicly traded companies, pointing to the potentially wider consequences for privately held businesses, property markets and other assets.
He did not present the figure as a direct accounting of money lost through corruption, but used it to illustrate what he described as the broader economic damage associated with the scandals.
Call for Stronger Legal Safeguards
Babacan stressed that combating corruption requires structural legal reforms rather than isolated investigations or arrests.
He argued that stronger legislation would help protect honest public officials, ministers and mayors from improper pressure and demands.
According to Babacan, the responsibility for introducing such legislation lies primarily with the central government and the Turkish Grand National Assembly, rather than individual municipalities.
He also criticised the public attitude sometimes expressed through the phrase “He steals, but he gets things done,” arguing that corruption can no longer be dismissed as an acceptable cost of political or administrative performance.
GRECO Recommendations Remain a Priority
A central part of Babacan’s remarks concerned Turkey’s commitments under the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).
He stated that GRECO had identified 54 measures requiring action in 2022, covering areas including senior public officials, parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors.
According to Babacan, only ten of these measures had been implemented, leaving 44 outstanding four years later.
He urged the government to bring the necessary reforms before parliament without delay, arguing that meaningful progress would require legislative and institutional changes.
European Public Procurement Standards
Babacan also called for Turkey to align its public procurement legislation with European Union standards.
He argued that adopting the EU’s public procurement framework would help reduce opportunities for corruption in government contracts and public investment.
According to Babacan, draft legislation had already been prepared during his years in government but had not been adopted.
He referred to disagreements over reforms between 2013 and 2015 as one of the factors that eventually led him to part ways with the government.
Babacan maintained that the necessary legislation could be passed by parliament within a month and that the new framework could become operational within three months.
Economic Confidence and Institutional Reform
Babacan’s remarks highlighted the relationship between corruption, economic confidence and the quality of public institutions.
His central argument was that combating corruption should not be limited to investigating individual cases but should involve creating a legal and administrative system that reduces opportunities for misconduct.
He called on the government to demonstrate its commitment through concrete legislative action, particularly by implementing outstanding GRECO recommendations and bringing Turkey’s public procurement rules closer to European Union standards.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZJph9uonmc
