Unic Press UK: Turkey’s plan of joining the European Union seems to have hit a brick wall.
Both the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her rival SPD chancellor candidate Martin Schulz, speaking during a TV debate in relation to 2017 election scheduled to hold this month, declared that membership talks between the EU and Turkey will not receive the support of Germany.
Merkel made the impression that no serious membership talks between the EU and Turkey had taken place anyway. She emphasized on exerting economic pressure on Turkey.
If I am elected, I assure there will be no accession negotiations between the EU and Turkey, Schulz said.
Merkel and Schulz also denounced the Turkish government detention of Germans for political reasons.
EU Membership criteria – Who can join?
EU: “The Treaty on the European Union states that any European country may apply for membership if it respects the democratic values of the EU and is committed to promoting them.
“The first step is for the country to meet the key criteria for accession. These were mainly defined at the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993 and are hence referred to as ‘Copenhagen criteria’. Countries wishing to join need to have:
- stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;
- a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU;
- the ability to take on and implement effectively the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.”
All prospective members are required to:
- Comply with all the EU’s standards and rules
- Obtain consent from EU institutions and EU member states’
- Have the approval of their citizens – often expressed through a referendum, or by an act of parliament
