The Czech Republic will support Turkey’s admission into the EU so long as the country is able to fulfill the required accession criteria, according to Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas speaking after talks on Monday with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan said he hopes Turkey’s admission, which the country has been seeking since 1959, will be supported by EU expansion commissioner Stefan Fuele of the Czech Republic. Erdogan added that Turkey is being made to meet more criteria than previous entering members, pointing to the financial reforms his cabinet carried out. However, Turkey has large social issues it must resolve before entering the EU. These surround human rights, media freedoms and Cyprus, as Turks do not recognize the Greek part of the island.
Nečas and Erdogan also discussed business issues, investments and the energy industry. They claimed there is potential cooperation opportunities for the two countries, particularly within the energy industry. The Czech Republic and Turkey are set to sign a strategic energy partnership memorandum.
