Brussels, 01/08/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission welcomes the adoption by Turkey on Wednesday, of its seventh package of legislative reforms (see EUROPE yesterday p 2). The Commissioner for Enlargement Günter Verheugen welcomed the fact that the continuation of the reform process, "demonstrated the strong determination of the Turkish government to pursue the legislative changes needed to achieve compliance with the political criteria of Copenhagen". In a public declaration on Thursday, the Commissioner highlighted the reform of the structure and way the National Security Council worked, describing it as, "a significant step towards the alignment of civilian control over the military with that of practices in EU Member States". In keeping with the different adoptions of new laws and reforms in Turkey, the Commission is insisting above all on the implementation of the decisions taken. In his declaration, Mr Verheugen insisted on that fact that, "the Commission underlines, in particular, the key role of the executive and the judiciary at all levels in the country and for reforms to be implemented in the spirit in which they were adopted".
In this declaration, the Commission also notes that, "this week the Parliament also adopted a law according a partial amnesty in connection with past events in the south east of Turkey", namely, in the Kurdish region, a term that the Commission does not utilise. The Commission, "is hoping that this law will help to strengthen peace and stability in the region".