MERKEL TELLS TURKEY TO GET WITH PROGRAM

Malaysia Sun, Malaysia
Big News Network
Nov 7 2006

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned Turkey that it cannot
continue to delay a settlement with Cyprus if it wants to join the
European Union.

We need the implementation of the Ankara protocol on the freedom of
movement of goods also with Cyprus. Otherwise, a very, very serious
situation arises regarding the continuation of the accession talks,
Merkel said in an interview published Monday in the Sueddeutsche
Zeitung.

A European Commission report expected to be released Wednesday could
recommend a partial freeze in talks between Turkey and the union,
the EU Observer reported. Merkel has said she would support a hold
on negotiations if Turkey remains intransigent.

Cyprus is a member of the union. European leaders are also critical
of Turkey’s human rights situation and its curbs on free speech which
have included prosecutions for insulting Turkishness for writers who
discuss the massacre of Armenians in World War I.