The 38-page electoral manifesto of Germany's opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc, released on 11 July, has confirmed the party's long-held stance that Turkey should be offered the prospect of "privileged partnership" rather than full EU membership.
The conservative CDU-CSU bloc, which is widely expected to take over at the helm in Germany after the prospective early elections in September, aims to strengthen NATO, improve relations with Washington and boost the EU's military capabilities, and will only accept new EU members - such as Bulgaria and Romania - who strictly meet the entry criteria.
The CDU-CSU would open accession talks with Croatia once it could be established that Zagreb was fully co-operating with the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal.
The projected CDU-CSU victory in September will pre-date the scheduled 3 October start of EU accession negotiations with Ankara. In order for the latter talks to begin, the EU would need unanimity across all 25 member states.
In a speech on 9 July, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer warned the CDU-CSU against making a strategic mistake by excluding Turkey from the European Union.
