TURKEY/GERMANY: Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) have said they will "do everything possible" to stop Turkey becoming a full member of the EU.
The sharp words, ahead of this week's decisive EU summit, came after the Turkish prime minister attacked Germany's opposition conservatives, as well as the EU, for discriminating against Turkey.
"We are very thankful for the support of the [ German] government. Unfortunately, the opposition appears to believe it can turn our accession desire into a domestic political matter," said Mr Tayyip Erdogan, calling the opposition's tactics a "calamitous mistake".
Mr Erdogan's remarks, in a German newspaper yesterday, prompted a warning from Mr Edmund Stoiber, the Bavarian state premier, who, along with conservative leader Dr Angela Merkel, wants the EU to offer Turkey a so-called "privileged partnership" trade agreement rather than full membership.
"Mr Erdogan should know that Angela Merkel and I will make every effort to make sure that an agreement is reached in Brussels that leads to truly open-ended negotiations," said Mr Stoiber yesterday.
"In any case, when we are in government in 2006 we will do everything, in conjunction with partners like France, to prevent full Turkish membership in the EU," he said. "Our goal is the privileged partnership because we do not want to overwhelm Europe." The opposition conservatives will step up their campaign today with a parliamentary resolution calling on the government "not to hide problems with Turkey".
The resolution says full EU membership would increase the risk of terrorism and Islamic extremism in Europe, rather than decrease the threat, as suggested by backers of Turkey's accession, as well as Turkish politicians.
Asked by journalists if he felt Turkey had been disadvantaged by the EU, Mr Erdogan said: "I can't answer this question with 'no'. I have the impression that Turkey is being measured using much stricter criteria," he said.
"No other country had to wait 41 years at the door of the European Union. We have fulfilled all demands and still the Europeans hesitate."
Mr Erdogan added: "If Turkey, as a country whose population is 99 per cent Muslim, does not take its place in the EU, it will be an expression that [ the EU] is a Christian club, no matter how often they say, 'We are not a Christian club'."
A leading German historian, Prof Heinrich August Winkler, said yesterday that Turkey's EU accession would end the EU's role as a political union.
"If the EU wants to retain its goal of being a political union, it has to be able to appeal to a European 'us' feeling. They can certainly no longer happen if Turkey becomes a full member," he told Der Spiegel magazine.
EU ready to open talks on Turkey's membership: page 14