Czechs discuss Turkish membership in the EU - 20-04-2006 - Radio Prague

Czechs discuss Turkish membership in the EU - 20-04-2006 - Radio Prague

Earlier this week Czech President Vaclav Klaus paid a state visit to Turkey, and declared his support for Turkey's ambitions to join the European Union. Meanwhile, here in Prague, a one-day conference entitled "Turkey in Europe—Europe in Turkey?" was held in the Senate chambers and attended by several experts on Turkish affairs and some Czech politicians.Turkey's potential membership in the European Union has been a subject of debate for decades. Now that the Czech Republic has joined the EU, Czech politicians are also actively engaged in discussing the possible membership of other aspiring states. Jan Zahradil, a Czech member of the European Parliament who also sits on the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, shares his views on whether Turkish membership in the EU would be good for the Union, and good for the Czech Republic:
"I think that enlargement as a general phenomenon is a good thing for the European Union. Enlargement should not stop, nor should it be stopped by some participants, and the Czech Republic as a new member state has declared several times that it will not be placing obstacles in the way of those who are just now applying for membership, but rather that it will help them, and that it would definitely be in favour of such membership. So, from both points of view, I think that we should have a positive approach to prospective Turkish membership in the EU."