Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to The Banker about Turkey’s role in Europe and other strategic policies.

Turkey’s economic recovery and reform continues to impress. Positive progress across the board will help the country to achieve its international ambitions.

Revaluation, consolidation, privatisation, economic revival and access to foreign markets all affected the banking sector in 2003.

As the Turkish economy expands, the major institutions are raising their game and improving their performance. Below we detail the key financial indicators for Turkey’s banking front runners.

The Banker presents a comprehensive overview of Turkey’s debt position and likely borrowing requirements for the future.

Despite the kickstart to merger and acquisition (M&A) given by two high-profile US deals, a report from Fitch Ratings last month stated that a growth in cross-border consolidation among financial institutions in Europe is unlikely. The report said that Europe was still fraught with regulatory, fiscal and cultural barriers, “not to mention a lack of any realistically achievable synergies”.

In the wake of a tough market and a poor reception for its new-look Golf, German carmaker Volkswagen has revealed a downbeat outlook for 2004 and announced plans to cut expenditure by 10%. Yet, it seems, analysts are still sceptical. Geraldine Lambe reports.

In Germany, the profitable niche of a regional rival is giving Frankfurt’s Deutsche Börse a run for its money. Jan Wagner reports from Stuttgart.

Greece’s newly elected conservative government has pledged to boost growth and reduce unemployment. However, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has more pressing issues to contend with first – namely, to ensure the success of this year’s Olympic games. Kerin Hope reports from Athens.