Turkey Hopes Judicial Crisis will Not Cause EU Friction
Turkey voiced hope on Monday that controversial judicial reforms would not provoke a major crisis with the European Union.
The comments by European affairs minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came ahead of a visit to Brussels this week by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his first in five years.
The trip was intended to highlight a new era in EU-Turkey ties after the resumption of accession talks last year, but has been overshadowed by the political crisis rocking Erdogan's government.
In particular, the EU has voiced concerns about the state of democracy in the Muslim-majority country following proposed legislation to give the government greater control over the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).
"We hope, we wish and we believe that the process concerning the HSYK will not provoke a serious crisis with the EU," Cavusoglu said in an interview with the Milliyet newspaper.
He insisted that the reforms were in line with EU standards.
"We understand that this initiative has triggered some discussion but we are going to explain the merits of this reform," Cavusoglu added.
Erdogan is due to leave later Monday for a two-day visit to Brussels where he will meet EU leaders for the first time since membership talks resumed after a three-year freeze.
The government has embarked on a purge of the police and judiciary in the wake of a corruption probe launched last month that has targeted top business leaders and politicians.
The actions have been seen by critics as a way to stifle the probe, which Erdogan claims is part of a plot to undermine his government ahead of elections this year.
The judicial reforms are set to be discussed in the full parliament from Tuesday.
Turkey has sought to join the EU for decades but the membership process only formally began in 2005 before hitting several stumbling blocks, including a territorial dispute with member state Cyprus and opposition from heavyweights France and Germany.
Source: Agence France Presse
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