Islam Times - I am skeptical towards Turkey’s full EU membership: Merkel

Islam Times - German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she remains skeptical about Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

Merkel made the remarks at a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday.

Turkey has been seeking to gain accession to the 27-member European bloc since 2005 but its EU membership bid has been thwarted by vehement opposition from key members France and Germany.

The German chancellor said she was in favor of reviving Turkey's stalled negotiations on its relationship with the European Union. "I said today that we should open a new chapter in the negotiations."

"I must say however, that so long as the question of the Ankara protocol, which hangs closely together with Cyprus, is not solved, we will have problems in opening as many chapters as would be perhaps good and proper," she said.

"We want a process with an open outcome. My position is known -- I am skeptical towards full membership. But I fully support that the negotiations take place openly," Merkel said.

"We still have a long path ahead of us," she added.

Merkel has long advocated what she calls a "privileged partnership" instead of full EU membership for Turkey.