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German conservative: new government would honor decision to openTurk

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  • German conservative: new government would honor decision to openTurk

    German conservative: new government would honor decision to open Turkish EU talks

    AP Worldstream
    Jun 01, 2005

    A new German government would honor a European Union commitment to
    open membership talks with Turkey, but would push for the country to
    be granted a "privileged partnership" instead, a senior opposition
    figure said in comments published Wednesday.

    Opinion polls have given the conservative opposition a strong lead
    over Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats ahead of elections
    expected in mid-September. Unlike Schroeder, the conservatives oppose
    Turkish EU membership, arguing that the largely Muslim country would
    over-stretch the bloc culturally and financially.

    EU membership talks with Turkey are set to start Oct. 3.

    "We opposed this decision ... but we can't unilaterally reverse it,"
    Bavarian Governor Edmund Stoiber told the weekly Die Zeit. "But it
    is also clear that the negotiations would acquire a new direction
    with a conservative-led government."

    "We don't want entry, but rather a privileged partnership for Turkey,"
    said Stoiber, Schroeder's challenger in 2002 elections. Conservative
    leaders have yet to define how such a "privileged partnership"
    would work.

    "We have to consider very carefully whether a country where women
    are oppressed on World Women's Day, torture is still practiced and
    references to historical truth _ the Armenia issue _ are seen as
    an attack on its identity fulfills the European canon of values,"
    Stoiber was quoted as saying.

    Turkey has passed sweeping reforms to meet requirements for EU
    membership, such as abolishing the death penalty and granting cultural
    rights to Kurds.

    Stoiber noted, however, that "negotiations can be broken off if
    certain conditions are not fulfilled."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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