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Merkel calls for progress on Turkish EU accession talks |
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Written by Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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Monday, 16 April 2007 03:16 |
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Sunday for progress in Turkey's application for membership of the European Union following talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the German city of Hanover.
Merkel said that she expected that two further chapters in the talks would be opened during the current German EU presidency that ends in June.
'We are looking ahead,' she said, but she also stressed that the outcome of the talks remained 'open.'
Erdogan had criticized the lack of progress in an interview with the German news magazine Der Spiegel published over the weekend, saying he had 'expected more' during the German presidency.
After the talks with Merkel, he moderated his criticism, saying there had been a 'boost' to the talks under the German presidency.
'We are on a long and narrow road,' the Turkish prime minister said, adding the process, which has been running since 1959, required patience.
In his interview with Der Spiegel, Erdogan said: 'We would like a clear date goal, a roadmap, a timetable for the talks. The Europeans could thereby show our people that they are serious,' Erdogan said.
He suggested 2014 or 2015 as a possible date for Turkish accession, calling on the EU to decide whether it was a true 'family of different cultures or a Christian club.'
Merkel has held out the possibility of a 'privileged partnership' for Turkey with its overwhelmingly Muslim population of 70.5 millions, rather than full EU membership. There are some 3 million people of Turkish origin resident in Germany.
The talks took place before the formal opening Sunday evening of the Hanover Trade Fair, where Turkey is partner country this year.
The fair is a top world showcase for the engineering industry. It opens to the public Monday and runs until Friday. |