Turkey hopeful Merkel would "restore EU accession process"

Source: Beta

ANKARA -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues her visit to Turkey, where officials expect a confirmation of her promise to restore Turkey's EU accession process.

(Beta/AP)

Merkel is on Monday meeting with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Known for being opposed to Turkey joining the EU, the chancellor has taken a step ahead of her visit to Turkey and announced that she was ready to open a new chapter in the accession negotiations.

"These negotiations have stalled somewhat and I support the opening of a new chapter in the negotiations, in order to be able to move ahead a little," she said in a video message released by her office.

Merkel added, however, that the negotiations had "a long way" to go, and reiterated her skepticism about their outcome.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has also supported the restoration of Turkey's accession process and warned of the risk of Turkey and her expanding economy turning their back on Europe.

"If we are not careful, the time will come when Europe will be more interested in Turkey than Turkey in Europe," said Westerwelle.

The Turkish press reported that Erdogan described the German move as "positive".

However, according to a survey released yesterday by the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, nearly two-thirds of Germans, or some 60 percent, are opposed to Turkey joining the EU.

Turkey became a candidate for membership 14 years ago, while the accession talks started six years later, in 2005. However, the negotiations have been interrupted because of the opposition to the country's full membership coming from France and Germany.

Another reason is the Turkish military occupation of the northern part of EU member-country Cyprus.

Prior to Berlin, Paris also opened the way to unblock Ankara's negotiations. France has said it was ready to lift the veto to the five chapters blocked by former President Nicolas Sarkozy, a strong opponent of Turkey's entry.

According to reports, besides the European future of Turkey, Erdogan also wishes to discuss a number of other issues on which the two countries disagree.

The Turkish prime minister will again seek the recognition of dual citizenships for some three million Turks living in Germany. The chancellor opposes it, but the opposition Social-Democrats support the initiative.

Talks are also expected to take place on the sensitive issue of fighting terrorism.

After the recent murder of three Kurdish activists in Paris and a suicide attack on the U.S. embassy in Ankara, Erdogan condemned the inactivity of German authorities toward Kurdish extremists, or the extreme left, who live in Germany.

Merkel on Sunday visited the German soldiers stationed in the Turkish territory manning two NATO surface-to-air missiles, deployed there "in order to protect from possible Syrian attack".