Brussels asks Turkey to be consulted to ensure judicial bill in line with EU legislation

BRUSSELS

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle said via Twitter that he 'asked [Turkish] authorities to consult relevant amendments to laws before adoption to make sure they’re in line with principles of EU legislation.' DAILY NEWS photo

The European Union has made a formal request to Ankara asking to be consulted on the controversial judicial bill on the Parliament’s agenda for ensuring that it is in line with EU legislation.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle said via Twitter that he “asked [Turkish] authorities to consult relevant amendments to laws before adoption to make sure they’re in line with principles of EU legislation.”

The EU had voiced last week strong concerns over the government response to recent graft probes that involve high-profile names and relatives of ruling party members through massive purges in the police and a bill increasing its control on the judiciary.

As a response, Turkey’s freshly-appointed EU minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who took over from an Egemen Bağış embroiled to the massive probe, urged calm further calling on Brussels to refrain from “unilateral and impatient statements via media.”

The judicial bill is expected to overturn the reform of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) in line with Turkey’s harmonization with the EU acquis. The body is at the center of the battle over control of the judiciary as its acting head has already condemned the bill as “unconstitutional.”

Füle’s statement was made both in English and Turkish.