"German Christian Social Union Vows to Block Turkish Membership
German Christian Social Union (CSU) party leader Edmund Stoiber says they will do everything they can to prevent Turkey from becoming a member of the European Union (EU).
Tension builds as the December 17 summit where EU leaders will make a decision on whether or not to begin negotiations with Turkey nears. Stoider spoke to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung on Saturday (December 11) to respond to criticism by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Stoiber is also the Bavarian provincial president and said that Erdogan should know that he and Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union will do their best to produce a decision in support of open-ended negotiations with Turkey at the December summit. Stoiber said that Germany will be governed by Christian Democrats in 2006 at any rate and that they will work with other countries, like France, to block Turkey's membership. 'Turkey's EU membership will be blocked by the Europeans. Our goal is a 'privileged partnership' that will not put any extra burden on Europe,' Stoiber added. "
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