EU-Turkey ties 'severely hit' by Ankara developments: Merkel

The relationship between the European Union and Turkey has been severely hit by actions taken by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today.

"The developments over the past weeks have severely hit German-Turkish ties as well as European-Turkish relations," she told parliament, noting in particular that Ankara's arrest and treatment of a German newspaper correspondent is "incompatible with a constitutional state".