Czech ForMin in Germany for EU coming closer to east Europe

Berlin - Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg came out for a conditional promotion of dialogue with Belarus and further countries of "eastern partnership" and for integration of the wester Balkans with the EU, in Bundestag today.

In an interview with CTK he said he would also like to see Turkey becoming an EU member one day.

Schwarzenberg was explaining to the Bundestag foreign committee members the efforts of the Czech Republic, current EU president, at eastern partnership.

"Germany that is the strongest country of the European Union plays a role in this. It is important for me that the foreign committee stand on our side," Schwarzenberg explained why he went to Berlin in between talks in Brussels.

Schwarzenberg told CTK that the Czech Republic reflects the "main stream" of European thinking on Belarus.

"It is desirable that we establish a relationship with Belarus. We should offer them a European alternative, but this requires that Belarus change its behaviour towards its own citizens," Schwarzenberg said.

Eastern partnership, one of Czech EU presidency priorities, is to also embrace Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It is to be launched at a summit in Prague on May 7.

EU-Belarus relations have seen a warm-up over the past fews past months. On Monday EU foreign ministers extended the originally half-year suspension of travel sanctions imposed on Belorusssian representatives.

This means that also the autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, could attend the Prague summit.

The Czech Republic as the EU president is interested in the integration of as many as possible countries, particularly in the Balkans.

The German government's strongest party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), however, on Tuesday embedded in its European Parliament election programme the opinion that the EU should now admit Croatia and then take a longer time for its own consolidation during which no new members would be admitted over a period of several years.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU is also opposed to Turkey's fully-fledged membership.

Schwarzenberg said today Prague's stand is "entirely different."

"We believe that after Croatia we should be admitting further members consistently according to their achievement and according to how they implement reforms," Schwarzenberg said.

He said he would like practically all west Balkan countries to be admitted. This means Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia.

Schwarzenberg said Turkey has not made any great progress in pushing through reforms over the past two years and that a strong anti-Turkish sentiment is apparent in Europe.

"Turkey has yet to do its reforms and it must settle its relations with Cyprus," Schwarzenberg said.

"If we are serious about the European Union, they (Turks) should also be part of the European Union," he said.

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