Ruling German party wants Turkey's EU bid halted

Ruling German party wants Turkey's EU bid halted

BERLIN -- The CSU, "the sister party" of Angela Merkel's CDU, wants Turkey's EU accession to be halted in light of the recent threats issued by PM Erdogan to his critics.

"Slowly it is becoming evident that Erdogan's Turkey does not belong in Europe," said CSU General Secretary Andreas Scheuer, explaining the request.

This German politician also pointed out that a country whose government threatens its critics and where democratic values ​​are trampled on "does not belong in Europe."

According to the German media, he also said that Ankara should be offered nothing above a so-called privileged partnership.

The party's position has met with "understanding" of its partner, the CDU, but also of the Social-Democratic arty (SPD) which in the past "almost always" advocated for Turkish membership in the EU instead of a privileged partnership offered by Merkel's Christian Democrats.

The deputy head of the SPD group the German parliament said it was necessary to "thematize" the issue of freedom of speech and human rights in EU's negotiations with Turkey, while the foreign policy spokesman for the CDU said that the relationship with the NATO partner was difficult because Turkey was needed as an important ally "and therefore relations and developments in that country cannot be regarded with indifference."