European Union Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn on Wednesday said Turkey’s current negative economic situation has been caused by domestic problems and cannot be resolved by aid from European countries.
“I just do not see any need for us to step in here,” Hahn told the German Die Welt daily.
“Sound monetary policy, an independent central bank and the sustainable preservation of democratic principles would help to make the economy revive,” he said.
“Above all, I see it as the responsibility of the political leadership in Turkey.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with weekly newspaper Die Zeit on Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned that more and more German companies are considering investments in Turkey too risky.
Turkey has been facing a currency crisis as its national currency has lost more than 40 percent of its value since the beginning of the year. While the central bank recently hiked interest rates by 625 basis points, with the result that Turkey offers the second highest interest rates in the world, the lira is still struggling against foreign currencies.