PM says Czech Republic ‘unreservedly’ supports Turkey’s EU membership

Speaking during a visit to Ankara on Wednesday, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek said that Prague fully supports Turkey’s EU membership bid. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded warmly to Mr Topolánek’s comments, and said that he hoped Prague’s view would remain the same throughout the Czech Republic’s EU presidency next year. After a meeting with the Turkish PM, Mirek Topolánek told reporters that the Czech Republic was ‘unreservedly’ for Turkey’s accession to the EU, and not ‘any alternative membership, half-membership or privileged partnership’. Turkey entered into membership talks with the EU in 2005, but several EU member states remain strongly opposed to Ankara’s membership.