Tough on Turkey

"The chancellor's proposal is that the European Commission should set a deadline of 18 months to review this issue" before deciding whether to resume full membership talks with Turkey, said deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg. "She believes that this could prove an appropriate and sensible instrument."

Steg said that the proposal, which had been mooted at the recent NATO summit in Riga, would be discussed by Merkel and Chirac when they meet in Mettlach in western Germany on Tuesday.

According to a Financial Times report, Chirac plans to back Merkel's proposal.

"France and Germany are on the same page with regard to Turkey," the paper quoted an unnamed Chirac aide as saying.

Split coalition?

A spokesman for German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier meanwhile called the proposal a "basis for discussion," adding that a "practical solution" had to be found to return to the negotiations with Turkey at a later point.

Unlike Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, which favors a so-called "privileged partnership" with Turkey rather than an EU membership, Steinmeier's Social Democratic Party supports Turkey's aspirations to join the bloc.

The European Commission last week recommended a partial freeze of Turkey's membership talks due to Ankara's refusal to open its ports to EU-member Cyprus under a customs agreement.

Ankara does not recognize Cyprus's Greek-Cypriot administration.

Freeze expected

EU foreign ministers are expected to agree on the freeze when they meet in Brussels on Dec. 11. The measure will see that eight of the 35 policy chapters, which all candidate nations must complete, remain closed.

A deadline for resuming full talks does not form part of the proposal so far but officials have told the press that both France and Germany believe it is necessary to maintain pressure on Ankara.

Poland's invited

Merkel and Chirac are meeting for their customary bi-monthly informal talks, which will be followed by a three-way summit with Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

Steg said the Mettlach meeting would provide an opportunity for the leaders to discuss issues relating to the "further development of Europe, including how we should now negotiate further with Turkey."

Germany takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union on Jan. 1.