German Christian Social Union Vows to Block Turkish Membership

Tension builds as the December 17 summit where EU leaders will make a decision on whether or not to begin negotiations with Turkey nears. Stoider spoke to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung on Saturday (December 11) to respond to criticism by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Stoiber is also the Bavarian provincial president and said that Erdogan should know that he and Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union will do their best to produce a decision in support of open-ended negotiations with Turkey at the December summit. Stoiber said that Germany will be governed by Christian Democrats in 2006 at any rate and that they will work with other countries, like France, to block Turkey’s membership. "Turkey’s EU membership will be blocked by the Europeans. Our goal is a ‘privileged partnership’ that will not put any extra burden on Europe," Stoiber added.

Erdogan had said that the German Christian Democrats are using Turkey’s membership bid as a tool for internal politics and described this as a "fatal mistake." The British Observer newspaper, meanwhile, asked Europe to open its doors to Turkey yesterday. The Observer article emphasized that the December 17 summit will be crucial to determining the EU’s future direction. If the answer to Turkey is "no," it will be confirmed once more that the EU is a "Christian Club." If the answer is "yes," then the most populous country in the EU will be a Muslim country. The EU Commission’s recommendation to begin negotiations with Turkey is also noted in the article as the upcoming decision will not be final and that France, in particular, intends to hold a referendum on Turkey’s accession.

The Observer compared Turkey with Ukraine and said that the people’s response to the opposition leader’s call for democracy in Ukraine showed what Ukrainians long for. The same is valid for Turkey, the article said. Even though the EU is a network of states, it is also a structure that encompasses the states to work for the good of all. Turkey and Ukraine also want to be involved within this structure and therefore, the EU should open its doors to them completely.