 |
Government aims high with constitutional reform
Davutoğlu, speaking on Friday after a meeting of the Reform Monitoring Group, a ministerial committee tasked with monitoring Turkey’s European Union reform process, said the existing constitutional reform package will raise democratic standards and expand individual rights and freedoms. The package, which includes amendments to nearly 30 articles of the coup-era Constitution, faces objections from opposition parties. The government says it will take the proposed reforms to a public vote if it fails to pass it in Parliament.
Liberal critics, on the other hand, say the reform falls short of introducing an extensive overhaul of the Constitution and demand more amendments to expand rights and freedoms.
“With this constitutional reform, Turkey’s efforts to have a democratic structure in line with modernization and international standards have gained momentum. The reform has also strengthened our hand in the international arena, particularly the EU platform,” Davutoğlu said after the Reform Monitoring Group meeting, attended by Davutoğlu, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay and Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, Egemen Bağış, in the Central Anatolian province of Konya.
He said the government aimed at a much broader drive in the future to reform the Constitution so as to introduce constitutional norms that are even beyond the global standards. The current Constitution was drafted by a military junta that took over the government following a coup in 1980 and has been amended several times since. The EU, which Turkey aspires to join, also calls for extensive constitutional reform.
Davutoğlu also said the government continued to work toward visa liberalization with the EU. Turkey, negotiating with the EU since 2005, demanded a visa exemption for its nationals traveling to EU countries after the 27-nation bloc agreed to lift visa requirements for three Balkan countries last year.
“We will speed up our efforts so as to enable our citizens to enjoy visa-free travel to Europe. We believe our demand [for visa liberalization] is ethically and legally justified,” he said. The government is working to craft a deal with the EU regulating readmission of illegal immigrants reaching Europe via Turkey. Another condition for a visa exemption is the introduction of biometric passports.
Interior Minister Atalay told reporters after the Reform Monitoring Group meeting that biometric passports in line with international standards will be available as of June 1. The current passport will still be in use until 2015.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BÜLENT KENEŞ |  |
||
| What befell Niyazi-i Misri in the past is happening to Fethullah Gülen now | |||
| EKREM DUMANLI |  |
||
| When a call for fairness and reason finds acceptance | |||
| ŞAHİN ALPAY |  |
||
| Uludere, test case for democracy in Turkey | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Are the Kurds mentally divorced from Turkey? | |||
| GÖKHAN BACIK |  |
||
| Erdoğan, Gül and Davutoğlu: the inner bargain on Turkish foreign policy | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| Taking lessons from previous experiences with the military | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| Qualm | |||
| ÖMER TAŞPINAR |  |
||
| A new phase in Syria? | |||
| İHSAN DAĞI |  |
||
| Turkish foreign policy: Time for a re-evaluation | |||
| SEYFETTİN GÜRSEL |  |
||
| Poor-friendly economic growth and the AK Party | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| Missing women, missing opportunities | |||
| BERK ÇEKTİR |  |
||
| Changes to incentives for investment in Turkey | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| The 1960 coup: a final test for democracy | |||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
