Erdogan stresses making party closures harder, speeding EU reforms

Speaking at his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled that the party is determined to enact a package of constitutional changes to make closing political parties more difficult. His party now faces a court case seeking its closure. In an appeal to opposition parties, he said he hoped they all could reach a consensus for the good of Turkey. He also stated that his government plans to speed up political reforms required to join the European Union, as the accession process remains a top priority. "For us, the key aspect about the EU is that it is an important platform for raising our democracy to universal standards," he added. "For this reason, it's out of the question for our government to slow down or stall the EU process."