REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN TURKEY IN THE INTEGRATION PROCESS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Seçil Mine TÜRK

Regional planning approaches include the actions which aim to eliminate the economical, social and cultural differences between the regions. In Turkey, there are serious developmental differences in terms of population, income level, economical and social activities between the regions. To eliminate these differences, the regional planning policies and development plans are made. The main goals are to eliminate the regional inequalities, to solve the economic, social and cultural problems of the regions, to satisfy the efficient use of the resources and to control the population movements. In the European Union, even though all member states apply their own national regional policies, there is a common regional policy to provide the economical and social development and to remove the regional instabilities. To realize these policies, the European Union benefits from certain instruments like financial aids and structural funds. Turkey, in the accession period has a responsibility of implementing regional policies. The accession partnership documents and progress reports prepared by the Union and national program and preliminary national development plan prepared by Turkey are very important in terms of showing the priorities of the Union and the responsibilities of Turkey