Duitse Christen-democraten tegen toetreding Turkije (en)
Germany's governing Christian Democrats have hardened their stance against Turkey, stating clearly that the country does not belong in the European Union and blocking Turkey's ruling conservative party from joining the wider European People's Party.
At the party's annual congress in Hanover on Monday (3 December), chancellor Angela Merkel said the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is against Turkey's bid to become a full member of the bloc.
"We are, have been and will remain in favour of a privileged partnership with Turkey, but we are against full membership in the European Union," said the chancellor.
In a highly symbolic move, the party has also decided to write the term 'privileged partnership' - a catch-all phrase meaning that Turkey should feel the benefits of the EU but not be a part of its decision-making structures - into its political manifesto.
"It was good that many of you made it clear that this phrase belongs in our new political programme," she said, according to AFP.
Further publicly cementing its sceptical position on Turkish EU membership, the congress also agreed that Turkey's ruling party, the AKP, should not be a full member of the wider European People's Party (EPP).
A motion agreed with only a few opposition votes says that parties can only become a member of the centre-right EPP if they are active in an EU member state.
It continues by saying that as the Christian Democrats believe Turkey should not get full EU membership, then it follows that the AKP cannot be a member of the European People's Party.
Financial Times Deutschland notes that the move to cool relations between the AKP and the CDU was carried out to appease the CDU's party roots, with Turkey being one of the most controversial issues for the German centre-right.
An earlier motion had stated that the AKP was a "friend" of the CDU and that its bid for membership of the EPP should be examined in a "fair" way.
But this was judged as not hardline enough for CDU members.
The results of the Hanover congress are a political blow for Turkey, which opened negotiations for EU membership in late 2005.
Since then its membership bid has been fraught with difficulties. A section of its negotiations has been frozen because of its refusal to trade with Cyprus, an EU member state, while it has been criticised by the European Commission for slowing down the pace of its internal reforms.
In addition, there is the hostility of some member states towards the idea of Turkey joining the 27-nation bloc.
While Germany's Angela Merkel has always maintained a fairly pragmatic approach to the issue, in favour of continuing negotiations with Ankara, France, under its new president Nicolas Sarkozy, has been much more forthright in its opposition.
President Sarkozy has said he does not believe Turkey belongs in the EU and that member states should openly discuss the issue.
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