EP Calls for Suspension Accession Talks if Constitutional Amendments Implemented

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Draft of the 2016 assessment report on Turkey of European Parliament’s (EP) lead negotiator on Turkey Kati Piri has been approved.

On her Twitter account, Piri declared that the draft was approved with 51 votes in favor, 3 against and 14 abstentions.

The report will be completed in the EP General Assembly session and its final version will be voted on July 6.

Piri: The proposed constitutional-reform package is not in line with the EU membership criteria

Stressing that the constitutional amendment package is not line with Copenhagen criteria, Piri said:

“The continuation of the state of emergency has disproportionate negative effects on Turkish society and the arbitrary arrest of thousands of citizens, including parliamentarians and mayors, is of utmost concern to us.

“The S&D Group has always been a fierce supporter of Turkey's accession process. However, it's clear that the proposed constitutional-reform package is not in line with the EU membership criteria.

“Therefore, the report adopted today calls for the formal suspension of the accession talks if the constitutional amendments are implemented unchanged. We expect the Turkish government to take the Venice Commission recommendations seriously, as well as the fact that half the Turkish population voted against the changes in the referendum.” (AS/TK)