European Parliament calls on Turkey to reform judiciary

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 Doğan 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.