ISTANBUL/BRUSSELS: Turkey warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday not to play politics with its European Union ambitions as Berlin blocked moves to open a new chapter in Ankara’s EU membership talks next week.
Turkey said failure to open the chapter would be a major setback in Ankara’s relations with the bloc and one senior Turkish official said it would “draw a strong reaction”.
Many EU capitals want to take the long-awaited step on Turkey’s path towards the EU next Wednesday, arguing Europe should capitalise on Ankara’s rising influence in the Middle East.
But Germany has criticised Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s heavy-handed response to weeks of anti-government protests and refuses to agree to open a new negotiation area, potentially the first such step in three years.
Germany blocked the opening of the new chapter, dealing with regional funding issues, at a meeting of EU ambassadors yesterday, EU diplomats said.
The EU has so far not cancelled next Wednesday’s planned talks with Turkey, an EU source said.
EU governments agreed to think about the issue over the weekend, and may return to it next week, but at this stage, there were no firm plans to do so, the EU source said.
“The Germans have to report back home but it seems they are leaning towards not opening the chapter,” one EU diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Ireland, which holds the EU presidency, said it continued to seek consensus to open a new chapter with Turkey next Wednesday. Merkel’s conservatives have rejected Turkish EU membership in their German election programme, saying the country would “overburden” the bloc because of its size and economy, sparking anger in Ankara.
“If Mrs Merkel is looking for domestic political material for her elections, that material should not be Turkey,” Turkey’s EU minister Egemen Bagis told reporters yesterday. “If Mrs Merkel looks into it she will see that those who mess about with Turkey do not have an auspicious end,” he said. REUTERS
