CDU: Erdoğan is afraid to get closer to the EU

Angela Merkel’s party CDU says getting closer to the EU and complying with the Copenhagen criteria “frightens Erdoğan”.

As the crisis between Germany and Turkey continues, coalition partner CSU has issued harsh criticisms against the SPD for their hypocritical approach in supporting Erdoğan and the AKP for years. Angela Merkel’s party CDU stressed that getting closer to the EU and complying with the Copenhagen criteria “frightens Erdoğan”.

The Christian Democratic Union Party’s (CDU) coalition partner in the German state of Bavaria Christian Social Union Party (CSU) accused the coalition member Social Democratic Party (SPD) to be responsible for the crisis with Turkey.

SPD’S UNYIELDING SUPPORT FOR ERDOĞAN CAUSED THE CRISIS

CSU Secretary General Andreas Scheuer spoke to Bild today and argued that the SPD’s “unyielding” support for Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan has paved the way for the crisis today.

Scheuer said SPD has “courted” Erdoğan for years and claimed that the “first human rights violations of the AKP government were disregarded”.

Scheuer also claimed that CDU’s and CSU’s policies on Turkey have been “honest, straightforward and determined” and said SPD leader Martin Schulz’s and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel’s harsh criticisms agaist the AKP are “election tactics”.

ERDOĞAN FEARS TURKEY GETTING CLOSER WITH THE EU

Larger partners in the coalition CDU and CSU argue EU accession talks with Turkey should be frozen. CDU-CSU foreign policy expert Jürgen Hardt spoke to the Rheinische Post newspaper and said Erdoğan fears Turkey getting closer with the EU.

Hardt stated that accepting the EU’s Copenhagen criteria mean a return to the principle of the separation of powers and freedom of the press, and said that that would also mean an independent judiciary investigating corruption claims against the government in Turkey.

Opposition party Die Linke’s Foreign Policy Spokesperson Andrej Hunko stated that there is nothing left to discuss with Turkey and called for the freezing of accession talks. Hunko said: “Now is not the time for talking anymore, there must be action.”