Sterke druk EU om overspel-bepalingen in Turks Burgelijk Wetboek te schrappen (en)

Pressure on Turkey was stepped up on Monday (20 September) as the European Commission made it clear that a reform of the Turkish penal code is essential to Ankara's application to join the EU.

Jean-Christophe Filori, spokesman for the European commissioner for enlargement, Günther Verheugen, said, "The Commission will make clear that, as long as such a central element as the reform of the penal code is not adopted, accession negotiations cannot start".

On Friday (17 September) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced to delay the 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 as well as in Turkey.

The Commission is due to present a report on 6 October on whether Turkey has met the membership criteria set by the EU.

The 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 negotiations.