ISTANBUL - German Christian Democrat Union Party (CDU) leader Angela Merkel who completed her meetings in Turkey, returned to Germany on Tuesday.
Speaking in a news conference before her departure in Istanbul, Merkel said that ''Turkey goes through a big transformation as the society and the state. It is not possible to see that from Germany.''
Noting that her two-day visit was important for her, Merkel said that ''it helped me to have new impressions about Turkey, I've seen that there is a dynamic process in Turkey and this process shows itself in the performance and policies of the government in power.''
Merkel stated that she had the opportunity to exchange views in her meetings in Ankara, adding that Copenhagen criteria were the main issue of her meetings.
Merkel noted that Turkey had expectations about the decision that would be taken in fall about its membership and noted that she explained her views about it. She claimed that Turkey was not ready for full membership yet, adding that she proposed Turkey's accession to EU with the status of privileged partnership, as this was the view of Christian Democrat Union parties.
Merkel stated that EU had to act more carefully as ten new members would join the EU, adding that Turkish side didn't find her views positive. Noting that Turkey launched efforts for full membership for long years and that it had a European perspective about this issue, Merkel asserted that it had to pursue a better policy. Regarding EU membership, she commented that Turkey had to be included more in security and defense policy.
Upon a question of a German journalist, Merkel said that realistically privileged partnership was the solution for Turkey.
Merkel said that she saw that Turkey had great will about membership, adding that ''EU Commission will prepare a progress report. According to that report, the Commission will take a decision. We all say that Turkey should come closer to Europe. Even if our views are different, we have explained them in a very friendly and sincere atmosphere.''
(Öª-AÖ) 17.02.2004