Turkey and EU

On a recent trip to Turkey, we met with the editor of a leading national newspaper and discussed a number of issues, including Turkey's acceptance into the EU. This is one of the sore spots for Turkey, with many believing that an "all-Christian" club wants to prevent a predominantly Muslim country from joining it. The editor reminded us that the educated realize that it is an economic club more than a religious club, and economics are driving the decision. The EU website states that "Turkey, a member of NATO, with a long-standing association agreement with the EU, applied for membership in 1987. Its geographical location and political history made the EU hesitate for a long time before replying positively to its application. However, in October 2005, the European Council opened accession negotiations with Turkey." The editor pointed out that the conditions imposed on Turkey exceed all the conditions imposed on the countries that have been admitted to the EU since 1987 when Turkey filed for acceptance. Since Turkey's filing, Austria, Finland, many former Soviet-bloc countries, Bulgaria, and Romania have been allowed into the EU.

President Obama has called upon EU to accept Turkey. It is the wise thing to do- politically, economically, and culturally. Sarkozy should stop being a racist and a jingoist and deal with Turkey as a country that is just as important as France. Both EU and Turkey can gain a lot from each other. I was very impressed by the vitality of Turkey.

Reforming Drug Addicts...Rx companies, that is.

I have written about the drug companies many times, often with the line "How much profit should one person make from another person's pain?" Having worked as a strategy consultant to the pharma firms, I am acutely aware of the actions of the drug firms to influence doctors, patients, and others while stifling competition.

Neelie Kroes, the European competition commissioner, has the guts to call it like it is.
From the NYT...
Europe Accuses Drug Makers of Padding Health Care Costs By JAMES KANTER BRUSSELS — The European Union accused drug companies on Friday of adding billions of dollars to health care costs by delaying or blocking the sale of less expensive generic medicines. One common tactic, said Neelie Kroes, the European competition commissioner, was for drug companies to amass patents to protect active ingredients in the medicines — in one case, 1,300 patents for a single drug. Another tactic, she said, was for pharmaceutical companies to sue the makers of generic drugs for ostensible patent violations, which tended to delay the availability of the lower-cost products for years. Ms. Kroes made her comments Friday while presenting the preliminary findings of a broad investigation into accusations of anticompetitive practices in the drug sector. She also turned her sights on the generics companies, which she said had received $200 million from pharmaceutical companies over seven years in exchange for holding their products off the market.