BERLIN, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Less than a month before Germany takes over the European Union presidency, the government in Berlin is divided over Turkey's accession talks.
Edmund Stoiber, a leading conservative, favors immediately abolishing EU accession talks with Ankara. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is an outspoken proponent of continuing the process by all means.
If Turkey were to turn away from Europe, "that would be a serious strategic loss for the EU," Steinmeier said in an interview with news magazine Der Spiegel.
Somewhere in between stands Chancellor Angela Merkel, who in the past has favored the idea of a "privileged partnership" rather than full membership for Turkey. She heads a grand coalition government of her conservatives and Social Democrats.
Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, has tried to influence Merkel, he told Der Spiegel. "I mentioned arguments that speak in favor of refraining from disproportionate reactions," he said.
The European Commission has recommended to partially suspend talks with Turkey after it failed to open its ports and airports to Cyprus. Germany will take over the rotating EU presidency at the beginning of next year.
Steinmeier said it was unlikely that EU members on Monday would find common ground on a penalty for Ankara.
"The positions of the European member states are too far apart for that," he told public television channel ARD in a Monday morning interview. "But ... I am very confident that there will be an agreement at the end of this week," he added, in reference to Thursday's EU heads of government meeting in Brussels when Turkey will top the agenda.
