Turkey should not become a member of the EU : Angela Merkel

While debating with her Social Democratic Party rival in elections being held later this month, Merkel said she will ask the EU to call off membership talks with Turkey  

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants to end Turkey’s application for European Union membership.   

She announced her plan to ask the EU to call off membership talks with Ankara during a televised pre-election debate on Sunday evening.   

While debating with her Social Democratic Party rival, Merkel said she ‘did not ever see them joining’, amid rising tensions between Berlin and Ankara.’I don’t see them ever joining and I had never believed that it would happen,’ she said during a televised debate, adding that she will speak with her EU counterparts to see if ‘we can end these membership talks’.   

She added: ‘The fact is clear that Turkey should not become a member of the EU.’   

Merkel’s tough stance came after Turkey arrested two more German citizens this past week ‘for political reasons’, infuriating Berlin. The plunge in relations began after Berlin sharply criticised Ankara over the crackdown that followed last year’s failed coup attempt.