Berlin, 2006/12/02, IRNA
German Chancellor Angela Merkel supports a tougher position on resuming Turkey's accession talks with the European Union, the online site of the weekly Der Spiegel reported Saturday.
Merkel has called for a so-called review clause which would make it more difficult to jump-start accession talks again.
Under the clause, all 27 EU member states would have to vote unanimously for resuming negotiations following a period of between 12 to 18 months.
The European Commission has announced earlier a partial suspension of membership talks with Turkey over its refusal to open ports to ships from Cyprus.
The chancellor's latest proposal is at odds with the pro-Turkey stance of her foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
While Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party opposes Turkey's full EU membership, Steinmeier's Social Democrats strongly back such a move.
Turkey-EU-Germany-Merkel
