EU Conservatives divided over Turkey membership

The European Union should offer Turkey an alternative to membership, the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic opposition said yesterday.

Speaking at the start of a two-day congress of the European People's Party (EPP), which groups conservative parties from across the bloc, Angela Merkel said the question of Turkey's EU bid would play a role in European Parliament elections in June.

But other delegates said the EU should keep its word to Turkey and suggested the issue was mainly a domestic German problem, exposing a rift within the EPP over how to deal with Ankara's quest for a date for starting membership negotiations.

The EU decides in December whether to open accession talks with Turkey, a sensitive choice with growing anti-immigration and anti-Muslim sentiment in many European countries.

"We should not give Turkey any false promises, because then there will be disappointment," Merkel, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told reporters. "We want a special partnership, a third way with Turkey, because for security and geopolitical reasons it is very important for us to have very close relations with Turkey," said Merkel, who plans to visit Turkey in two weeks.

The EPP is the largest political group in the outgoing European Parliament and the CDU, together with its German sister-party the Christian Social Union (CSU), holds the most seats in the assembly. Merkel said Turkey was bound to be an election issue would but not dominate her party's platform.

Germany has the largest Turkish minority in the European Union with at least two million Turks living there.

Rene van der Linden, a Dutch Christian Democrat, said the EU should apply tough criteria on Turkey, but could break promises.

"There is only a third way if Turkey agrees, and if Turkey does not agree then we have to discuss membership," he told Reuters. "We cannot say no."