German CDU slams EU-Turkey talks
By Nick Antonovics

BERLIN, June 16 (Reuters) – Germany’s opposition said on Thursday
the European Union should not hold full membership talks with Turkey
as it was clear European citizens would oppose its entry into the
25-nation bloc.

“It would be totally irresponsible to negotiate with Turkey over 10
years, holding out the hope of full membership, in the knowledge that
there will never be a majority for such a decision in those countries
which plan referendums (on the matter),” Christian Democrat (CDU)
leader Angela Merkel said.

“That is irresponsible foreign policy which we won’t go along with,”
she added in a speech to the German parliament.

She spoke as the parliament prepared to adopt a separate resolution
condemning the “young Turkish government of the Ottoman Empire” for
the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians that started in 1915 —
a move that is likely to anger Ankara.

The CDU has long argued the EU should offer Ankara a “privileged
partnership” rather than full membership. It has so far stopped
short, however, of calling into question the Oct. 3 start date for
entry negotiations.

Merkel is favoured to oust German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder,
a strong backer of Turkey’s bid to join the EU, in an expected
September election.

Speaking before Merkel, Schroeder argued that any risks in holding
negotiations with Turkey were outweighed by the potential benefit of
binding an Islamic country to Europe.

“The risks linked to such negotiations are manageable,” he said,
noting talks could be broken off at any time by either party and
there were safeguards to protect Germany’s labour market from unwanted
immigration.

The resolution on Armenia stops shot of describing the killing as
“genocide” — a term Turkey rejects — but has angered Ankara at a
time when it already fears the EU’s constitutional crisis could hurt
its EU membership chances.

Opposition to Turkish entry is widely seen as one of many reasons
voters in France and the Netherlands voted down the EU constitution
in referendums several weeks ago.

06/16/05 11:38 ET