EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALLS ON TURKEY TO REFORM JUDICIARY
Today’s Zaman
Nov 27 2009
Turkey
European Parliament MEPs on Thursday adopted a resolution calling on
Turkey to continue its reforms.
The European Parliament has called on Turkey to reform its judiciary,
saying such reforms are "vital" for the democratization of the
EU-candidate country.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Thursday adopted a
resolution on enlargement based on a draft by Italian MEP Gabriele
Albertini of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats).
The resolution welcomed the adoption by the Turkish government of
a judicial reform strategy following a process of consultation with
all stakeholders as a positive step, the Anatolia news agency reported.
In its newest progress report on Turkey, the European Commission,
the EU’s executive body, also highlighted the same issue. In the
report made public in October, the European Commission noted that
the measures taken to increase staff and funding in regards to the
judiciary have been considered positive.
"However, these efforts need to be continued, and concerns remain
with regard to the independence, impartiality and effectiveness of
the judiciary, such as the composition of the Supreme Board of Judges
and Prosecutors (HSYK) and the establishment of the regional courts
of appeal," the report said. The European Parliament resolution,
meanwhile, expressed concern over freedom of expression and freedom
of the press in Turkey while referring to the fact that media company
Dogan Yayın is challenging a record 4.8 billion lira ($3.2 billion)
tax fine after the failure of settlement talks with tax officials.
The resolution is expected to contribute to a debate on enlargement
at an EU summit on Dec. 10-11, which will include talks on Turkey’s
compliance with commitments to the EU.
Expressing sadness over recording limited progress in the field of
religious freedom, the European Parliament urged the government to
establish an appropriate legal framework that would remove improper
limitations on non-Muslim communities as well as the Alevi community.
While the government’s democratization initiative, which includes
resolving the Kurdish issue, is welcomed in the resolution, all
political parties have also been encouraged to lend support to the
government’s efforts.
Ankara has been praised for its efforts to normalize ties with
neighboring Armenia, and the Parliaments of both Armenia and Turkey
are urged to ratify the two protocols signed by their governments
for restoring diplomatic ties and for reopening the common border
between the two neighboring countries.