On a global scale, terror is the leading issue facing the entire world. While the casualties caused by terror are some of the most destructive aspects of this threat, there are numerous negative effects, ranging from unemployment to various losses faced by different sectors. Having said that, albeit not to the extent of social trauma caused by terror groups, drugs, human goods and weapons trafficking run by international criminal organizations incite great worry for countries and international institutions regarding the destruction they cause. It is estimated that terror organizations and international criminal organizations manage an expansive black and underground market worth $4 million to $5 trillion on a global scale. The reports of international institutions, primarily the U.N., show that global drug trafficking alone has reached $1.8 trillion. What is further devastating is that $300 billion of this money has been exchanged legally.
It is said that 250 million people are addicted to drugs worldwide, 30 million of whom are addicted to deadly dosages of illegal drugs which could cause them to die at any second. Since the end of the 1990s Turkey, in addition to its effective counterterror struggle, is putting up a serious fight against global drug trafficking. However, this issue has led to the discovery of such illegal methods as money laundering in sectors ranging from construction to tourism, football and aviation while the efforts of international institutions to stop the flow of "dirty money" are not enough.
Whether it be the U.N., the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the bodies and relevant task forces established within these organizations that have been active for at least 20 years have yet to achieve the expected success in the face financial burdens associated with international terror and illegal organizations. This is why Turkey's leadership in waging an effective fight against drugs in its region will save not only the youth but also those in surrounding regions, potentially saving them from becoming pawns of international terror and crime organizations, ensuring of course that G20 countries exert sincere, strong determination in the fight against terror and drugs.
Europe grasping at its weakening reputation
Last week, we discussed a series of tensions caused by U.S. President Donald Trump in the international political arena and the consequences these problems have as they have also intensified the rapprochement on the EU front. As Trump's critical stance towards EU member states within NATO reached its peak at the G7 and NATO summits, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has started referring to the creation of a new security concept without NATO, more particularly without the U.S. The EU, who is going through the most difficult days of its history and is facing the risk of dissolution with the Brexit decision in the U.K., is now going through a recovery process with Emmanuel Macron's election as the president of France, important messages on togetherness from Germany and following Macron's first foreign visit to Germany.
After the European Central Bank's decision of "euro clearance" that will affect London's position as the center of finance, the news from the Spanish and Italian banks giving "red alert" and the fact that the government's decision to save the two Italian banks was labeled as a scandal by non-governmental organizations, are all signs to a new discussion over the European banking system. At exactly this point, it should be noted that Germany now supports the idea of a "common minister of finance and joint budget" that it opposed to a year ago; as EU project is at the verge of disappearance if it the joint monetary policy is not supported with a joint financial policy.
Merkel's suggestion of a joint minister of finance and budget for the Eurozone - if the structural framework is ready - means that she is also maintaining a positive stance towards reforms advocated by France's President Macron. In other words, with Merkel-Macron's cooperation, the operation to save the EU has accelerated. It should be noted that the EU has fined the U.S.-originated Google 2.42 billion euros for violating competition rules in online shopping; in days when German-French cooperation stands out in the name of the EU's future. Will this new process strengthen the possibility of the Schröder-Chirac duo returning to the policies followed earlier regarding the fact that Turkey is critically important for the EU? We hope that the EU will come around with regards to its policies towards Turkey and will find the right way.