"Europe will never be able to digest Turkey’s accession in economic terms… You are not a candidate for membership," Kern told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, referring to Ankara.
Kern also noted that Turkey has "almost crossed the line" with regard the human rights and called on Ankara to halt the talks on entering the European Union.
Relations between Brussels and Ankara became strained after Turkey’s crackdown on opposition journalists, as well as public servants and judges, in the wake of the July 2016 coup attempt which prompted EU disapproval shown by suspension of the accession talks.
Turkey signed an association agreement with the then-European Community in 1963 and submitted a membership application in 1987. Among the EU members, Turkey has the most strained relations with Austria and Germany as the Vienna repeatedly urged Ankara to put an end to the accession bid, whereas Berlin insists on a review of the EU economic policy with regard to Turkey.
