Turquie

On 6 February 2023, two large earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.6 and 7.7 hit central and southern Türkiye and northern Syria resulting in widespread damage and fatalities in the region and leaving 3.3 million displaced. This note – prepared for a workshop to support the affected city of Gaziantep in March 2023 - provides an overview of the affected regions, and key issues and recommendations to support the recovery, based on international experience. It highlights that a plan should be made to support displaced residents for an extended period, identify high-risk families, train the workforce needed for the reconstruction effort, strengthen governance processes to protect recovery funds, coordinate reconstruction efforts across levels of government and with international donors, and engage communities in ambitious plans to improve infrastructure going forward.

Robust SME sectors are critical to the prosperity of the six Western Balkan economies and Turkey, accounting for over 70% of those employed in the business sector and generating 65% of value added in these seven economies. Yet their potential remains untapped, as SMEs across the region grapple with numerous challenges that hamper their growth and productivity. They are still under-represented in international trade, and their contributions to value-added remain comparatively low as they have difficulties in moving or expanding into high value-added activities. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the implementation of the ten principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) in the seven EU pre-accession economies over the period 2016-18. It monitors progress against similar assessments performed over the past decade and identifies the outstanding challenges affecting SMEs. It also provides targeted recommendations to remove barriers to SME development and unleashing their potential for driving inclusive economic growth.