NATO member Turkey has long sought to join the EU, but efforts have stalled in recent years, with reticence over the country’s human rights record a key stumbling block.
Fule, the EU’s top official on the issue, said the bloc was sticking by the country’s membership bid.
While opposition to the premier is intense, the 59-year-old Erdogan has won three elections in a row and gained almost 50 percent of votes in 2011, having presided over strong economic growth.
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