Turkey's half-century EU bid should not be sacrificed to German election

Signs of a substantial change in Germany's policies toward Turkey have taken more concrete form over the course of the summer, after the Bundestag voted in June to move German troops and aircrafts from the İncirlik base to Jordan over Ankara's refusal to allow German lawmakers to visit the base. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's latest statements indicate what this change will look like and on what grounds it will be based.

Speaking at the German Parliament on Sept. 5, Merkel said she would bring the issue of Turkey's accession negotiations to the European Council in October, with a demand to either suspend or end them. In a recent televised debate with her political rival Martin Schulz - who also says EU accession talks with Turkey should be ended - Merkel strongly signaled that this was not merely a pre-election promise made to her electorate, but a policy that would be implemented in her fourth term as prime minister.

Her messages also include Ankara and Brussels' plans to upgrade the Customs Union, after last week she conveyed to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Germany's opposition to discussing an upgrade of the Customs Union under current conditions. 

It should be noted that these messages come after Merkel held a mini-summit with the leaders of France, Spain and Italy 10 days ago. Although the summit was about stemming the flow of African refugees into Europe, it's almost certain that the troubled state of ties with Turkey was also addressed by these four leaders.

Cutting pre-accession financial aid from Brussels to Turkey is among the possible sanctions that Merkel has voiced in recent days. On the bilateral level, Merkel has also threatened to issue a stronger travel warning to German citizens,...