European Union welcomes the Turkey’s reform package

Turkey’s reform package has received a cautious welcome in Brussels, with the European Union saying it would track the implementation in the country aspiring to become one of its members. Peter Stano, spokesman for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, said Ankara‘s reforms hold the “prospect for progress on many important issues”. “We will closely follow up the implementation of course and the translation of the proposals into real life, into legislation and into practical actions,” Stano said. He urged Ankara to engage opposition parties as the reforms are implemented and said changes would reflect in the EU‘s progress report concerning states seeking membership on October 16. Earlier today, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayipp Erdogan had announced the political reforms aimed at strengthening democracy, including greater freedoms for the Kurdish minority and lifting a ban on wearing Islamic headscarves.