The EU published its report on Turkey: Emphasis on the presidential system and the independence of the judiciary
In its annual report published today, the European Union (EU) Commission warned that there are serious deficiencies in the functioning of Turkey’s democratic institutions.
According to Euronews, the report notes that Turkey continues to regress in the area of democratization and warns that structural problems continue, especially in the presidential system.
‘THERE IS NO HEALTHY SEPARATION OF POWERS’
Referring to the last elections, the report notes that “one-sided news in the media and the lack of a level playing field for candidates” gave the government an unfair advantage.
The report criticized that, according to the Constitution, powers were centralized at the presidential level and that a healthy and effective separation of powers between the executive, the legislative and the judiciary could not be achieved, and determined that the executive branch would only be democratically accountable through elections due to the ineffective balance and control mechanism.
The report warns that “government pressure on mayors who are members of opposition parties weakens local democracy.”
‘THE DECLINE IN JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE CONTINUES’
The report states that the serious decline in civil society issues continues, saying: “Civil society organizations faced increasing pressure and a reduction in their fields of activity; “This situation led to the restriction of freedoms of expression, association and assembly.”
The report criticizes the serious deterioration in the independence of the judiciary and the fact that the structural deficiencies of the judicial system have not been resolved despite the numerous judicial reform packages of recent years, and states that it is worrying that some decisions of the European Court of Human Rights Human rights (ECHR) remain not applied.
The report states that no progress has been made in eliminating excessive influence and pressure from the executive on judges and prosecutors, which negatively affects the independence, impartiality and quality of the judiciary.
The report points out the insufficiency of the measures adopted in the field of combating corruption and points out that the recommendations of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe were not implemented.