ANKARA (AA) - The European Union (EU) praised democratization package that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled on Monday while the European Parliament (EP) member Ria Oomen-Ruijten said she will closely follow up the implementation.
The EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule’s spokesperson Peter Stano has said on Monday they carefully followed Erdogan’s remarks and appreciated his reference to the EU acquis as a beacon to the package. Stano stated the package has given a hope for progress in various fields such as education in different languages and minority rights.
He also welcomed a planned reduction in the country's election threshold of 5 percent and expanding the scope of state aid to political parties, saying that this step will increase political diversity in the country. Stano stated they will closely follow up the implementation and changes would reflect in the upcoming EU’s progress report on Turkey.
Meanwhile, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, the EP rapporteur on Turkey, has said the package contains positive proposal such as minority rights and election system and expressed her desire to see the package details, saying that she will closely follow up the implementation.
In a written statement, Oomen-Ruijten said the package is important to underline more reforms. She also stated that there are some problems the package did not address at all.
EU lawmaker praises Turkey's democratization package
European lawmaker Ismail Ertug has praised Turkish government’s "democratization package" announced Monday and called for further reforms to improve freedom of expression and freedom of press in the country.
"While Turkey still needs deeper reforms, this reform package is a significant step in the right direction," said Ertug, a German-Turkish Social Democrat (SPD) member of the European Parliament (MEP).
According to Ertug, proposals that foresee reducing the 10 percent election threshold, simplifying foundation of political parties and improving financial support for them would contribute to a stronger democracy in Turkey.
"These are milestone proposals for Turkish civil rights and should be supported by all political forces," he stressed in a written statement.
Ertug expressed appreciation for the steps that include the returning of the land of the Mor Gabriel Monastery to the Syriac Christian community foundation, allowing Kurdish-language education in private schools and restoring the original names of villages in Anatolia.
He also called for a timetable for reforms listed under the democratization package, adding that further reforms are needed to improve the status of the Alevi community and to improve the freedom of press.
"As long as there is no media law in Turkey that regulates relations between politics, large corporations and the media, we cannot talk about any freedom of expression," Ertug argued and he also urged for further reforms in that field.
