German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday voiced criticism of Hungary's constitutional changes, saying concerns raised by the European Union about the disputed alterations should be taken seriously. A government spokesman said the chancellor had reacted "critically" to news from Budapest that Hungary's parliament had on Monday altered the constitution for the fourth time since Prime Minister Viktor Orban came to power.

BERLIN, March 6 (Reuters) - The co-leader of Germany's Greens attacked Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democrats (CDU) on Wednesday for their "1950s" stance on same-sex marriage and insistence on pursuing a disputed multi-billion euro rail project. With less than seven months to go until a federal election in which Merkel seeks a third term in office, Cem Oezdemir told Reuters the government should stop discriminating and classifying citizens according to sexual preference.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Monday she had hesitations over Turkey's full membership in the European Union but said the entry process should nevertheless be kept "on track." "We are going through an open-ended negotiation process... Although I have reservations on full membership, I certainly want to keep the talks on track," Merkel told a joint news conference in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived Sunday on a two-day visit to Turkey where she will discuss Ankara's bid to join the European Union and the conflict in Syria, national media reported. The Anatolia news agency said Merkel had touched down in the southern city of Gaziantep from where she was scheduled to travel to Kahramanmaras to visit German troops who have been stationed there since January. The 300 German soldiers are operating Patriot missiles as part of a NATO mission to protect the Turkish border from any spillover of the conflict in neighbouring Syria.