I think we have to tackle this problem at two different levels. On the one hand, we see that Turkey has a major human resource problem at this point, a bottleneck. At the same time, in addition to the arrests, dismissals, and blacklisting, we are also seeing an exodus, a brain drain, such that people who are not yet necessarily harassed by the government choose to leave Turkey and look for alternatives in Europe or in the Americas. When we look at these cases, we see that this exodus is not triggered by economic factors. It's mostly about individuals and families looking for the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms, and freedom of religion or belief. People are simply looking for a future with guaranteed fundamental rights. In the mid- to long-run, I think this is the major challenge for Turkey, which has NATO's second largest military. A Turkey that continues to bleed its smart minds and hearts is a grave danger not only to itself but also to the transatlantic alliance.
On April 26th, 2018. See this statement in context.