Erdogan criticizes EU for not taking further steps towards visa liberalization

Speaking at the Turkey-Finland Business Forum in Helsinki on Wednesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the European Union for not taking further steps towards Turkish-EU visa liberalization, noting that the EU does not require citizens of several countries to have visas but does require this of Turkish citizens. Erdogan also said that Turkey's foreign exchange reserves have climbed from $27.5 billion to $134 in the last 11 years, adding that this situation helped the country to take easier steps in economy. Stating that 196 businesspeople in the Turkish delegation represent a turnover totaling $100 billion, Erdogan said that it was a quite strong potential which could allow a great many joint work. For his part, Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said that Finland has been supporting Turkey's EU membership from the very beginning.