(VOVworld) – The Austrian Chancellor, Christian Kern, said the EU should abandon talks with Turkey on its prospective membership in the European Union as democratic and economic disparities between the two are too great.
 

Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern during a press conference in Budapest, Hungary (photo: Peter Kohalmi/AFP via Getty Images)

He warned on Wednesday that Turkey’s becoming an EU member will cause a massive economic disturbance in the EU, which is already struggling with various problems derived from its central and eastern enlargement policy.
Kern said it was necessary to create measures to narrow the economic gap between Turkey and the EU. He said Austria would start discussions about ending access negotiations with Turkey at a European Council meeting September 16.
Turkey’s accession to the EU has faced a number of obstacles, particularly after Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s statement that he intends to reinstate the death penalty following the failed coup on July 15.