BRUSSELS (AA) - Turkey's democratization package is positive that a comprehensive reform of rules and procedures of the Parliament was launched to move beyond a confrontational approach and to improve Parliament's functioning, the European Commission (EU) said in its draft report on Turkey.
Turkish government announced a democratizaiton package on September 30. The draft report, obtained by Anadolu Agency, prasied the democratizaiton package but cautioned for more attention. It opens the perspective for changes to the 10% threshold for representation in Parliament and provides for the decrease of the threshold for budget support to political parties, the report said.
"More attention needs to be paid to the adoption of an inclusive approach to law making, with systematic consultation of all stakeholders, including on sensitive issuses," it said.
It said the legal framework on elections and political parties needs to be aligned with European standards.
- Turkey re-accelerates economic activity
Turkey has managed to stop economic slowdown and re-accelerate its economic activity, it said.
The economic criteria section of the report which will be published on October 16 praised the Turkish economy.
The report said economic slowdown began in mid-2012 and continued through 2012.
"The slowdown has stopped at the beginning of 2013 and economic activities have re-accelerated," it added.
The report emphasized that employment has explicitly increased and unemployment continues to decline, but said jobless among women is still low. The EU report noted the financial sector has performed well and continued to endure.
Meanwhile, the report cautioned Turkey over its external debt structure, capital flow reversals and fragmentation of responsibilities.
"The external deficit remains large. Combined with a precarious external debt structure, it makes Turkey vulnerable to capital flow reversals," the report said.
It also underlined that although inflation declined in 2012, it has risen beyond the Turkish Central Bank's target.
Apart from the progress report, the EU will also release a strategy report in which the Union praises Turkey for its functioning free market economy.
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