Original sentence: In February 2004, Angela Merkel, then opposition leader, now chancellor  of Germany, visited Turkey to present the idea, which was vehemently rejected by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the turkish government.Privileged partnership is the term coined by the German conservative party CDU for their model of the future realation between Turkey and the European Union, which falls short of full membership.See Accession of Turkey to the European Union for a more thorough discussion of the subject.The idea is now supported by former French president and head of the Convention on the Future of Europe Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, current French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, among others
Edited sentence: A privileged partnership between Turkey and the European Union is an idea lanched by Angela Merkel in February 2004, which has gained momentum since then and now is widely discussed in Europe.The idea is now supported by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Nicolas Sarkozy, Wolfgang Schüssel and  many more politicians.The idea is refused by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan