A top German opposition leader said on Thursday he believed Ukraine would make a more suitable candidate for membership of the European Union than Turkey. The comments by Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber, a possible contender for chancellor at national elections due in 2006, highlighted resistance in the conservative German opposition to Turkish membership. EU leaders will decide at a Dec. 17 summit whether to start entry talks with Turkey, amid debate in European capitals over whether the bloc could ever absorb such a large, relatively poor, Muslim country of 70 million people "If you look at developments in a country neighbouring the EU such as Ukraine, many are asking whether Ukraine is not much more a European nation than Turkey," the daily Die Welt quoted Stoiber as saying. Stoiber, who lost narrowly to Schroeder in the 2002 election, did not say why he believed Ukraine, currently in turmoil over a disputed election, would make a better candidate. He told the paper he would work to promote a "privileged partnership" between the 25-nation bloc and Ankara rather than full EU membership -- a notion Turkey has rejected. Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac pledged on Thursday to back Turkey's EU bid, but Chirac said an alternative to membership might be needed if entry talks failed. --SP 2335 Local Time 2035 GMT
