Long-term challenges remain: continuing with structural reforms, maintaining rapid and steady economic growth and fiscal discipline, boosting employment, reining in the informal economy, and making progress with respect to EU accession. While the latter is expected to be a long and complicated process, it will remain a driving force for Turkey’s reform efforts. In addition, accelerating the reform process will be vital for a positive outlook. Recent political turmoil and upcoming local elections in 2009 could become a distraction for further reforms. The key drivers for the reform agenda will be: the government's decision on a new agreement with the.
