Turkey will not accept a "privileged partnership" with the EU, the country's EU Minister Omer Celik has said, Anadolu Agency reports.
"If we are offered a privileged partnership, we will not even consider it, and simply reject," Celik told news channel Haberturk on Friday.
German politicians lately proposed the "privileged partnership" for Turkey, instead of full EU membership. "No one can offer a second-class status to Turkey in its EU relations," Celik said, underlining Turkey's clear position on this.
The minister also criticized Johannes Hahn, commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. "Although he is the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, he wants to cut Turkey-EU relations."
Turkey had applied for the EU membership in 1987 and accession talks began in 2005.
