Turkey's economic development which has been "looking quite good" hampers the expose of "real problems" said Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery Drago Kos, urging that the low level of transparency should be higher on the agenda.

“Transparency is the tool that usually helps in controlling what the state powers, especially what the executive branch is doing. However, extremely low level of transparency is a problem in Turkey” Drago Kos told Doğan News Agency (DHA), on the sidelines of a Transparency International Turkey panel on April 7.

According to the 2015 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International, Turkey’s score went from 53 to 66, comparing to 2014.

However, Turkey’s economic development has been an asset comparing to many other countries, although it is “slowing down” and “not so vivid as it was before”, Kos added.

According to Kos, this upsurge also stirs questions for the transparency of other issues.

“Economic development giving impression that everything is fine”

“This is the reason why many other problems of Turkey are not being exposed to such extent. The problem of corruption could be much higher on the agenda, not only for the civil society and public sector, but also the government itself” he said.

“If it is not, there will be the economic development which gives the impression that everything is fine, which is not” he urged.

According to the OECD Group Chief, “real problems could pop up when this level of development slow down and people start to realize the problems”.

“Not one, not two, but several problems will erupt at once, and the government will have to deal with all of them” Kos stressed.

Still, Turkey is a “very good example”, according to Drago Kos from the OECD.

“Many countries would like to reach at least the approximate level of economic development in Turkey” he said.

“Turkey is doing fine in this area. The problem is, because of the economic development, the government is pushing aside other things that will be very problematic in the future” Kos added.

OECD Groups Chair “shocked” to see level of “suppression on media”

Speaking to DHA, Kos added that he has been “shocked to see how much the media freedom has been suppressed in Turkey”.

Turkey has been exposed to different threats while it is in a developping process in several areas, Kos said.

“If citizens and state institutions in Turkey do not have the real picture of what is going on, they might easily be defrauded with wrong information” urged Drago Kos.

Kos, underscored that free press is a first step “to a better society where all citizens can take part in governing the country”.

Kos: Without freedom of media, I do not see Turkey joining the EU

But how do these concerns influence the perception of Turkey in the eyes of the OECD and the European Union (EU), amid reenergized accession talks?

“I can say that media freedom is one of the crucial elements when Union members decide if Turkey should be invited to the join the EU or not” said Kos, adding that OECD’s focus was wider than press freedom.

However, “Without the freedom of media, I do not see any countries joining the EU, including Turkey” he added.

The authority of the government over other institutions, especially due to “moves to politicize the judicial system”, along with a number of bans and limitations on the freedom of the media, have “eroded checks and balances on the political authority”, according to Transparency International Turkey’s “National Integrity System Assessment – Turkey” report, which was released on April 7.