Turkije stelt hervorming strafrecht uit (en)

Turkey's troubled path towards EU membership suffered a further blow on Friday (17 September) when Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was forced to delay an important penal code reform because of a row within his own party over plans to criminalise adultery.

The 346-paragraph code was originally intended to bring Turkey into line with European norms but the inclusion of the proposal to criminalise adultery brought widespread protests in the EU.

"Such provisions would certainly cast doubts on the direction of Turkey's reform efforts and would risk complicating Turkey's European prospects", European Commission spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori commented, according to Reuters.

Mr Tayyip Erdogan however underlined that Turkey's new criminal law was not part of the Copenhagen Criteria.

The Copenhagen Criteria from 1993 define a number of standards that countries entering the EU must meet such as democracy, human rights, protection of minorities and a functioning market economy.

"The EU has no common code of criminal law. We are undertaking this reform of criminal law on our own initiative. And I'm convinced that's something our European friends will appreciate", Mr Erdogan said in an interview to Deutsche Welle.

It seems inevitable that the Turkish Parliament will now not be able to approve the reform package before publication of the Commission's progress report on Turkey.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheugen is due to present the crucial report assessing Turkey's progress in meeting the Copenhagen Criteria on 6 October.

The much-awaited report will serve as a basis for a decision by EU leaders on 17 December on whether or not to give Turkey a starting date for membership talks.