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Southeast Europe
August 18, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 13
Merkel’s comments on Turkey-EU customs union “unfortunate”, says Ankara
bne IntelliNews
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s remarks
on how she does not see any expansion of the customs union between the EU and Turkey on the horizon are “unfortunate”, Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik said on August 17.
“No EU member state should give orders to EU institutions. Such statements undermine the bloc’s credibility”, Celik added.
Ongoing bilateral problems between Ankara and Berlin should not be reflected in Turkey's relationship with the EU, Hurriyet Daily News quoted Celik as saying.
“We are not opening new chapters in Turkey’s [EU] accession bid and we have lowered membership preparation aid to a minimum. Also, for the time being the customs union deal with Turkey will not be changed or updated,” Merkel said on August 16, the newspaper also reported.
Turkey’s relations with Germany deteriorated after last year’s coup attempt.
Merkel, whose every word must currently be weighed with regard to her re-election campaign in advance of the German federal election on September 24, also stated that "no kind of deepening at all" in relations could presently be anticipated, according to Reuters.
Ankara accuses Berlin of failing to support the Ankara government in the wake of the botched putsch in July last year, and of harbouring members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), suspected coup plotters and the leftist DHKP-C.
Bilateral tensions further escalated after Turkey arrested several human rights activists, including a German citizen, prompting Berlin to warn all Germans to exercise more caution in travelling
to Turkey. There have also been heated rows over German lawmakers right to visit German armed forces personnel stationed in Turkey, like Germany a Nato member.
Ankara has issued a diplomatic note to Berlin asking whether a fugitive prime suspect of the coup attempt, Adil Okssz, is in Germany, Hurriyet Daily News reported on August 16.
The note urged German authorities “to investigate the accuracy of news reports, and [bring about] the detention and extradition of the coup plotter in the event of the reports’ accuracy,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told the newspaper.
Berlin will look into Ankara’s request to extradite Oksuz, a German foreign ministry spokesman said August 16, according to Reuters.