Turkey's Economy Shrinks By Nearly 10 per cent In Q2 During COVID-19 Lockdown

On August 31, official figures showed that Turkey’s economy contracted 9.9% in the second quarter of the year from the previous three-month period in the wake of lockdown measures put in place to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Though the quarterly decline in the April to June period reported by the Turkish Statistical Institute was the country's biggest contraction in more than a decade, it was slightly less than economists had predicted.

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When the pandemic struck in March, the government imposed a number of restrictions to keep a lid on infections that inevitably hurt the economy. As well as shutting down some businesses, it imposed weekend curfews, closed borders, and restricted domestic travel. Many of the restrictions were lifted in June hoping that the economy would rebound strongly in the third quarter have faltered as tourism levels have been way lower than previous years. Turkey’s economy grew by 4.4 % in the first quarter.

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European Union Warns Turkey

The European Union on August 28 reportedly said that Turkey could face fresh sanctions that would include tough economic measures. These sanctions will be imposed if Turkey fails to work on the increasing tensions with Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.

Josep Borrell, the EU diplomatic chief reportedly said that they want to give "a serious chance to dialogue”. However, they are in support of member states Greece and Cyprus during this crisis.

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The dispute in the eastern Mediterranean stems from the fact that Greece believes that the small Greek islands that are located near Turkey’s coasts should not be taken into account when deciding maritime boundaries, this claim had been vehemently disputed by Turkey.

Turkey has repeatedly accused Greece of trying to take a larger than its appropriate share of the resources presents in the eastern Mediterranean. As per reports, the foreign ministers from the EU nations were believed to debate about possible sanctions that would persuade Turkey to make compromises regarding its claim to energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.

(With inputs from AP)

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