EU/TURKEY: The European Commission has asked Turkey to provide details on a package of human rights reforms seen as the country's first step towards starting membership talks with the European Union.
"Of course, this is a very positive step forward and we salute it," a commission spokesman said yesterday, "but we have to carefully examine the package's tiniest details."
Turkey's parliament on Saturday adopted ground-breaking reforms, including the abolition of the death penalty and legalisation of language courses and broadcasts in Kurdish, in an attempt to secure a start date for EU membership talks by year's end.
Ankara yesterday said it was awaiting a "courageous response" from the European Union after adopting the reforms.
"We hope that our European partners will respond with as much courage to the courageous and historic moves by Turkey," said Mr Volkan Vural, the top Turkish official for European affairs.
France hailed the reforms, with foreign ministry spokesman Mr Bernard Valero calling the reform package "ambitious" and one that marked "significant progress for Turkey on the path of democracy." He praised Ankara's decision to abolish capital punishment and urged the government to definitively approve the reforms and start implementing them as soon as possible.
However, the European Commission spokesman said Brussels had asked for "clarifications on a certain number of points", including Ankara's position on the rights of Kurds and religious minorities in the mainly Muslim country.
The spokesman said the EU's executive arm was particularly concerned about the application of reforms regarding television and radio programs in the Kurdish language and the teaching of non-Turkish languages.
The new measures will become law once signed by the president and published in the country's official gazette, both of which are expected to happen soon.
Turkey is one of 13 candidates seeking to join the EU.