GERMANY: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin in his first visit to Germany since Merkel took office

Record ID: 217710

  • Title: GERMANY: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin in his first visit to Germany since Merkel took office
  • Date: 27th May 2006
  • Summary: (EU) BERLIN, GERMANY (MAY 26, 2006) (REUTERS) PAN FROM REPORTERS TO GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL AND TURKISH PRIME MINISTER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE HALL CAMERA OPERATORS (SOUNDBITE) (German) CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL SAYING: "This conference shows how close the economical and the political ties are between Germany and Turkey. The German and Turk
  • Embargoed: 11th June 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAP5UO5DN2ZS8F7NWAFB2Q9JLS
  • Story Text: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday (May 26) in his first visit to Germany since Merkel took office.
    The talks between Erdogan and Merkel focused on bilateral ties as well as international issues such as the Cyprus problem and Iran's nuclear row.
    The two leaders also expected to attend the Second German-Turkish Economy Congress, a summit of 700 Turkish and 700 German businessmen. The CEO's of Mercedes, Ford, Siemens, Metro, Deutschebank, Fortis Bank, Gerling Konzern, Allianz, Dresdner Bank are expected to attend the Congress.
    "This conference shows how close the economical and the political ties are between Germany and Turkey. The German and Turkish relations are very intensive becaouse three million people with Turkish background live in Germany. That is regarding people with or without German nationality and these people make germany a nice place to live in." Angela Merkel told reporters after the end of the talks
    Merkel is among EU leaders one of the most vocal opponents of Turkey's bid for full membership of the bloc, favouring instead a partnership agreement with Ankara.
    "There were and still are people in my party who regard full EU membership of Turkey rather skeptically. But we have always said that once we have the responsibility of being in government we will honour political agreements that were made earlier. We will continue and accompany Turkey's process of becoming a member in the EU while making sure the country follows all the rules of that engagement. I am sure there will be some hard debating but on the whole that process is being continued and I said as much to the Prime Minister," Merkel concluded. Prime minister Erdogan ensured that EU membership was on top of the Turkish political agenda
    " Naturally negotiations with the EU has the highest priority. Up to today Germany has always supported us. Be that the seventeenth of December (EU summit) or at the start of the negotiations. I am sure that the support will continue in the future." Erdogan's government, which has its roots in a banned Islamist party, has been facing increasing calls to resign since an On May 17 an unprecedented attack was made on the country's highest administrative court, the Council of State. A gunman shouting "I am a soldier of Allah" burst into the court, shooting dead a senior judge and wounding four others, to "punish" the court for upholding a ban on headscarves in public institutions and universities. The attack provoked mass street protests by secularists amid charges that the AKP government had emboldened religious extremists with its opposition to the headscarf ban and frequent criticism of court rulings.
    " The people who did it have been caught and will be handed over to the the custody of the court. Because what it boils down to, they have attacked peace and the values of my country. This attack has been carried out by a blood thirsty organizations." Prime Minister Erdogan ensured the gatherd german and foreign press.
    Nearly 2.7 million Turks live in Germany. The trade volume between two countries is worth some 22 billion Euros. Nearly 2,000 German firms invest in Turkey, while nearly 65,000 Turkish entrepreneurs invest in Germany.
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