BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said he will not take part in the next German coalition government, expected to be led by conservative Angela Merkel as chancellor."I will not belong to the next government, definitely not belong," Schroeder told a labor union meeting in his hometown of Hannover Wednesday.Coalition talks between Schroeder's Social Democrats and Merkel's conservatives are expected to last at least one month, during which Schroeder is expected to remain chancellor.On Monday, Merkel said her Christian Democrats had reached a "grand coalition" agreement that will make her Germany's first female chancellor. Merkel said her party will take the chancellery and six Cabinet posts, while the Social Democrats will have eight. (Full story)Coalition talks have been ongoing since the September 18 national election in which Merkel's conservatives won by a narrow 1 percent plurality over Schroeder's Social Democrats.In Hannover, Schroeder thanked union members for their support during his seven years of government and urged the new leadership to push through economic reforms while maintaining the nation's social welfare programs, The Associated Press reported. The chancellor gave no indication of what he planned to do in the future, although he has said he would participate in upcoming formal coalition talks "so that they turn out well," AP reported. Schroeder hinted Tuesday evening he did not want to take one of the Cabinet posts that will go to the Social Democrats in the new government.Schroeder's union speech came ahead of a trip Wednesday to Turkey, and he again argued for Turkey's membership in the European Union."By combining a non-fundamentalist Islam with Western enlightenment, our values, it would be an enormous security increase for us," he said.Merkel has opposed Turkish membership and called instead for a "priviledged partnership." EU-Turkish talks on membership began this month.CNN's Chris Burns contributed to this report.